Liverpool to search for new key defender, report suggests

Liverpool's new manager, Arne Slot, had a successful debut on Saturday with a win against Ipswich Town. However, their progress in the transfer market has been sluggish.

The Dutchman arrived at Anfield earlier this summer not needing to perform major surgery on the team that Jurgen Klopp led to a third-placed finish last season, but the club remain the only team in the Premier League not to make a signing in the summer transfer window. 

Liverpool saw Martin Zubimendi opt to remain at Real Sociedad and also missed out on a move for Anthony Gordon earlier in the summer, while another target in Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili played in Los Ches' defeat to Barcelona at the weekend, indicating that there is still work to be done on that potential move. 

VIDEO: How Arne Slot Has ALREADY Transformed Liverpool

Mamardashvili has been targeted as a long-term replacement for Alisson Becker and the Reds’ latest move in the market looks to be with the intention of finding an eventual successor to another established first-team star.

According to L’Equipe, Liverpool are looking to sign French left-back Adrien Truffert, with the 22-year-old Rennes star tagged as a potential replacement for Andy Robertson.

Truffert impressed during the Olympic football tournament as hosts France won a silver medal and that has altered the attention of Liverpool, plus their Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Manchester United.

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Capped once at senior level by France, Truffert is a marauding left-back much in the same style as Robertson and scored two goals and served up seven assists during his 43 appearances for Rennes last season.

Truffert is under contract until 2026 and valued at €18million by Transfermarkt, but his age and contract situation could drive this price up. In FourFourTwo’s opinion, Truffert looks to tick a lot of boxes for a potential Liverpool signing.

The club could do with a younger option at left-back, given that Robertson turns 31 this season and his back-up Kostas Tsimikas is 28, while there are question marks over the long-term future of the versatile Joe Gomez. It has become clear that the club are taking something of a longer-term view to the current transfer window, with Slot taking advantage of the bright situation he inherited from Klopp by planning for the future.

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