Fabrizio Romano CONFIRMS Liverpool miss out on star defender

After having targeted reinforcements at centre-back throughout the summer transfer window, it now looks like Liverpool will have to turn their attentions elsewhere as Fabrizio Romano revealed that one of their top targets is headed to a major European rival.

Eintracht Frankfurt’s 22 year-old Ecuadorian defender Willian Pacho is set to move to Paris Saint-Germain in a transfer that could see the French champions pay a fee of €45 million, according to Romano.

Having spent just the one season in Germany, where his solid defensive displays attracted plenty of potential suitors, Romano reports that Pacho is now believed to be on his way to Paris to undergo a medical ahead of signing a five-year deal.

Read more: FIVE clubs declare interest as £12m Liverpool wonderkid is primed for the exit door

This news could come as a blow to Reds’ boss Arne Slot and new sporting director Richard Hughes, given that they have reportedly been looking to sign a new centre-back to fill the gap in the squad left by the departing Joel Matip, especially with Pacho allegedly having been one of the preferred choices when it came to signing a left-footed and consistently injury-free central defender. 

Liverpool remain the only Premier League club not to sign any new players to their first-team squad over the summer, although potential transfer business is expected to accelerate in the coming days. 

It should also be pointed out that the Reds are not short of options at centre-back even with Matip’s departure and missing out on Pacho. With captain Virgil van Dijk as well as Ibrahima Konate and Jarell Quansah, not to mention potentially retaining heavily-linked Sepp van den Berg and Joe Gomez, there is the possibility that the defensive ranks need not be prioritised as much as other areas of the squad.