Liverpool's transfer 'priority' confirms major Andoni Iraola decision

Andoni Iraola has been given a tough hand to deal with during his first season as Liverpool's boss.

The Reds have spent over £600 million across the last couple of years with most fans believing that they'd easily run away with the Premier League title.

That has obviously not been the case. Right now, Liverpool are fourth in the Premier League and find themselves nine points adrift of first-placed Arsenal.

And, while this isn't the end of the world, everyone involved with Liverpool would probably prefer them to be a bit more in the title race right now.

So, with the January transfer window just around the corner, changes are expected to occur with several players already being linked with leaving and joining the Reds.

This summer, a lot of Liverpool's recruitment was focused around shoring up their defence.

But, during the season before that, injuries, coupled with poor form often crippled the Reds in their games and ended with them finishing fifth in the Premier League.

This was obviously miles away from where they needed to be, especially since it was only a season after they'd won the title.

In the end, this poor form led to Arne Slot's sacking and thrusted Iraola into the deep end.

The Spaniard and Richard Hughes made some changes to Liverpool's first-team squad but, some more transfers are needed, especially with how many of their players' contracts are set to expire in June 2027.

So, this latest update from James Pearce is certainly an interesting one.

"Centre-back not a priority for Liverpool." he wrote.

"So highly unlikely they will invest heavily in that area either in Jan or next summer. Jacquet has made a huge impact and big hopes for fellow young CBs Leoni, Ndukwe and Ndiaye."

Virgil van Dijk is one of the biggest-named players who's contract expires in June 2027.

The Liverpool captain extended his contract by two years back in 2024 but, now that he's only got six months left on his deal, a decision needs to be made.

By the time the 2027-28 season comes around, the Dutchman will be 36 years old so, it's obvious why some questions are being asked about whether he has what it takes to still do it at the top level.

But, thanks to this latest update from Pearce, it seems like Liverpool believe he can.

Because, with Van Dijk and Joe Gomez's contracts running out this summer, there's no way that a new centre-back wouldn't be signed by Liverpool.

Throw in the fact that Ronald Araujo's season-long loan is also going to end in June, the Reds would literally have Giovanni Leoni and Jeremy Jacquet as their starting centre-backs.

And, while both players are incredible, they're not ready to be a centre-back partnership for Liverpool just yet.

Admittedly, Van Dijk has been making the odd mistake recently, but, give him another couple of years to mentor the young defenders coming through, and he could craft them into some of the world's best.

Here's hoping Liverpool come to their senses and come to an agreement with their captain.