Liverpool transfer news: Arne Slot told to "save your season" as new Marc Guehi alternative linked with Anfield move

Liverpool should make reinforcements in defence even if they have to pivot from Marc Guehi to alternative targets such as Rennes centre-back Jeremy Jacquet, Reds expert David Lynch has argued.

The Merseysiders will face Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday in the Premier League, but they will only have two senior central defenders fit for that game following Joe Gomez's injury last weekend against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Fans have speculated that the club could bring in Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi, but securing him in the winter window could be difficult as the Eagles may want to keep him at Selhurst Park in order to aid their Conference League campaign.

Lynch was in favour of Liverpool looking for additions in the market, highlighting links to players such as Jacquet, telling Sports Mole: "Joe Gomez obviously picked up a muscle injury, and starting at the basics, you're looking at weeks off the pitch barring a miracle.

"Liverpool prefer to do business summer to summer, but they are reactive to possibly bringing some deals ahead. What you can say about it is that if they are going to do anything, centre-half is where they would and should act because they're very short there.

"Jacquet could be on that list and may be one that they are looking at closely, and they have to be thinking about whether he's got the potential to come in now, though obviously whether he can save your season with how limited they are at centre-half remains to be seen."

The Reds almost completed a deal to bring Guehi to Anfield for £35m on transfer deadline day, so the club should have some funds available to make additions such as Jacquet if they looked to make an addition in January.

Why Liverpool need to make a January addition in defence

Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate are currently Liverpool's only senior centre-back options given Giovanni Leoni and Gomez are both injured.

Konate has a long history of injury, and it would be surprising if he managed to last the season without being sidelined at some point.

Lynch spoke of the importance of learning from the mistakes of prior campaigns, when the lack of activity cost the club dearly, when he told Sports Mole: "We've got a decade of evidence that Liverpool don't behave in the transfer market like other clubs.

"We might say that they've got injuries in this position and that they should see who the best centre-half they can get is, but Liverpool will take their time, rightly or wrongly.

"Doing things that way has cost them in some seasons, but they're never going to diverge from their normal approach because they can say that is there is a reason they get signings right more than most clubs."

After Van Dijk suffered a serious knee injury in the 2020-21 campaign, the Reds' failure to bring in another centre-back proved costly as Gomez and Joe Matip also suffered injuries that season, leading the club to start midfielders Jordan Henderson and Fabinho in defence.

Will Liverpool sign Jeremy Jacquet or another centre-back target?

Liverpool have often been reported as reluctant to complete business in January, but they have signed the likes of Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz in previous winter windows.

The club usually take a long-term approach to their squad planning, even if that has meant leaving sizeable gaps in the the team.

Speaking to Sports Mole, Lynch insisted that Liverpool will only bring forward a deal if they sense an opportunity, or if a potential summer deal is under threat, saying: "We can confidently say they won't want to be active in January and they'll look to avoid it if they can.

"If anything happens, it will be a deal done primarily because that person will be coming in the summer but they are available now, or someone who is competing with you for them is acting now, forcing Liverpool to get the deal wrapped up.

"Liverpool may want to steal in there as they did with Luis Diaz when Tottenham were interested, and that is a really good example. They'll be keeping an eye on their summer targets, and if there's one they can get done ahead of time, absolutely they'll look to do it."

Jacquet could be a genuine target for Liverpool, but the Reds may be willing to wait until the summer to bring him to Anfield, even if the squad suffer from a lack of numbers in the immediate future.

> Click here to listen to the full discussion on whether Liverpool could move for the likes of Jeremy Jacquet