Arne Slot must move for January target, he’s running out of time to play with Liverpool star he thinks is ‘fantastic’

Arne Slot will be desperate to make additions to the Liverpool backline following a shaky few matches at Anfield.

Virgil van Dijk is far from his best this season, with his lack of leadership part of the reason that the Reds have fallen to fifth in the Premier League and also ninth in the Champions League.

In addition to the Dutchman, Ibrahima Konate’s future is uncertain at Liverpool, but after his shocking performances across all competitions, some fans cannot wait to see the back of him.

Giovanni Leoni‘s arrival was greeted with a lot of excitement, but after sustaining a long-term injury on his first start, the Reds are back in the market for yet another experienced centre-back.

Mick Brown has revealed to Football Insider that Liverpool are eyeing a big-money deal for Alessandro Bastoni, who is currently one of the first names on Inter Milan‘s teamsheet.

Liverpool target Alessandro Bastoni
Credit: Imago

Alessandro Bastoni has already spoken glowingly about Liverpool’s stars

Bastoni is no stranger to playing the Reds, with the two giants clashing only earlier this month in the Champions League, but he could now switch allegiances to Merseyside.

Speaking back in 2022 [This is Anfield], Bastoni said: “I’ve been against top players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior, who are all top European players as well.

“Salah, [Sadio] Mane and [Diogo] Jota are all fantastic players, but we will need to play very well tomorrow and show our team spirit – that goes for me and all the other players.”

Mohamed Salah in a training bib
Credit: Imago

Sadly, he will be unable to play alongside either Mane or Jota, but there is still a chance to be Salah’s teammate, despite all of the speculation around the legendary winger’s future at Anfield.

Mohamed Salah could be in his final season at Anfield

The falling-out between Salah and Slot was quite the bombshell on Merseyside, but the pair appear to have fixed their relationship somewhat before the Egyptian jetted out to AFCON.

Despite this, there remains huge speculation around the 33-year-old’s next steps, with heavy links to the MLS and Saudi Arabia, and not much time left for the player to earn these massive wages.

If Bastoni has any dreams of playing alongside the Premier League great, he might have to force a move away from Inter next month, but that could come at quite the cost for the Reds.

At just 26 years of age, the Italian international is already one of the most talented defenders in the world, and with Slot unable to find a fix for his defensive issues, this could be the only answer.