Man City player “wanted” to move to Liverpool, as Jürgen Klopp is set to remind him to make a deal before January

The match on Saturday against Manchester City will serve as a reminder for Liverpool to make a transfer, since they will be facing a player who has expressed his desire to join the Reds.

Due in large part to his unique profile, Joško Gvardiol was one of the most sought-after players on the market during the most recent summer transfer window. Even though the Croatian international was only 21 years old, he was already regarded as one of the world’s top defenders and, more importantly, he preferred to use his left foot.

Being a left-footed wonderkid who had participated in the FIFA World Cup and the Champions League, and had experience playing both full-back and center-back on the biggest stages of football, he was nearly portrayed as a unicorn. Since 75% of Premier League players prefer to use their right boot, lefties are frequently highly sought in the market.

Gvardiol then joined Manchester City, the treble champions, at the Etihad Stadium for a reported transfer fee of $100 million (£78 million/€90 million). Pep Guardiola is renowned for giving his players’ footwork a lot of weight. In fact, the Spaniard claimed that Aymeric Laporte’s left-footedness was a major factor in his signing in 2018.

After the transfer was confirmed, he stated, “It’s crucial to have a left-footed central defender” (via the Manchester Evening News). “He helps us to make our build-up and when the ball comes from the right, he immediately controls to the left and plays it to Leroy [Sané] — that is quicker than we would play with a right-footer in that position.”

Over the summer, Laporte left Manchester to relocate to Saudi Arabia, and Guardiola signed Gvardiol from RB Leipzig to take his position. Given that he is known to have been a lifelong Reds fan, Liverpool may have had their eye on the Croatian defender at the time.

“I grew up with only my dad and Liverpool matches since I was a little boy,” he previously stated to the Croatian news source 24Sata. “When I took football more seriously, I started following them, and I definitely want the Premier League and Liverpool.”

If Jürgen Klopp had chosen to pursue his signature in the summer, he would have been justified. Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joël Matip, and Ibrahima Konaté are among the right-footed players he has at the core of his Liverpool defence. Compared to his English managerial colleagues, he is virtually at a disadvantage.

For instance, Mikel Arteta has Gabriel Magalhães and Jakub Kiwior at Arsenal, while Guardiola has Gvardiol and Nathan Aké. Lisandro Martínez plays for Erik ten Hag at Manchester United; Sven Botman and Dan Burn play for Newcastle United; Levi Colwill plays for Chelsea; Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres play for Aston Villa.

Instead of adding his own version of that kind of player in the summer, Klopp gave Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas the freedom to occasionally fill in as central defenders, depending on the circumstances of the game. Matip’s Anfield contract is set to end in2024, so Liverpool will need to find a replacement—ideally a left-footer.

That player could have been Gvardiol, but he was signed by a bitter rival and will play the Reds this coming weekend. On Saturday afternoon, Klopp is expected to lead his team to the Etihad for what looks to be an exciting match between two attacking teams.

Though it’s unclear if Gvardiol will play, it’s possible that he was lining up in red this term. For Klopp, his presence will virtually serve as a reminder before 2024. Left-footed centre backs are still missing from Liverpool, and that need needs to be filled as quickly as possible.