Sources: Liverpool priority January signing revealed after U-turn
Liverpool will prioritise a new centre-back signing in January after it was confirmed that Joel Matip suffered a devastating knee injury, sources have told Football Insider.
Jurgen Klopp is pushing behind the scenes to add a new defender to his squad after Matip's injury left his options thin over the busy Christmas period.
The Merseyside club released an official update on Wednesday (6 December) revealing that Matip has suffered an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament during the Premier League clash against Fulham.
With the 32-year-old centre-back now out for multiple months, Klopp is left with only Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez as proven central options, although Jarell Quansah has developed impressively this term.
Football Insider has been told that Liverpool's recruitment team have made a U-turn on their initial plans following Matip's injury and will now free up funds to pursue a defender over the January window.
Matip has already made 13 appearances for the Reds this season across all competitions, including 10 in the Premier League.
Konate has also made 10 league appearances for Liverpool this season, but Matip has been Klopp's regular first-choice partner for Van Dijk with the Cameroon international boasting more top-flight minutes with 782.
Football Insider revealed on Wednesday that Klopp is a "huge admirer" of Matip and he wants the experienced defender to sign a new contract at Anfield.
Liverpool have an extremely busy fixture list on the horizon including six more matches to be played in December.
With more injuries likely between now and the start of the January window, Liverpool have already begun the process of shortlisting several defensive targets.