Liverpool are set to be in the market to add a new central defender to their squad after adding Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz, and Milos Kerkez to the group.
Wirtz and Frimpong have already been confirmed as new signings, both joining from Bayer Leverkusen, whilst Kerkez is reportedly on the verge of a move to Anfield.
The Premier League champions will then need to find another centre-back to compete for a place in the team, because Jarell Quansah is set to move on from Merseyside.
Fabrizio Romano has reported that Bayer Leverkusen have agreed a deal worth an initial £30m to sign the England U21 international from the Reds this summer.
Quansah was the third centre-back for Arne Slot during the 2024/25 campaign, behind Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, which means that the club will need to find another player to fill that slot.
Liverpool have already missed out on one centre-back they were reportedly interested in, though, as Real Madrid snapped up Dean Huijsen earlier this summer.
Why missing out on Dean Huijsen was a blow for Liverpool
It was reported in May that Liverpool were preparing to make a bid to sign the Spain international from Bournemouth, but Real Madrid swooped in to sign him for a reported fee of £50m.
Missing out on a deal for the 20-year-old defender was a blow for the Reds because he is a proven Premier League performer who could have hit the ground running at Anfield, having already showcased his quality in the division for the Cherries.
Huijsen started 26 of his 32 appearances for Bournemouth in the top-flight during the 2024/25 campaign, and his performances were impressive enough to earn a £50m transfer to the Bernabeu.
Progressive passes
4.89
Top 15%
Progressive carries
1.52
Top 9%
Interceptions
1.89
Top 4%
Blocks
1.48
Top 31%
Clearances
7.34
Top 4%
Aerial duels won
2.52
Top 23%
As you can see in the table above, the Spanish titan combined progressive play in possession with solid defensive work, as shown by how highly he ranked against his positional peers.
This further emphasises how much of a blow it was to miss out on the young centre-back, as he could have been a standout performer for Liverpool if he could carry that form over to Anfield.
The Reds could, however, land an even bigger talent than Huijsen as they are now eyeing up a very talented teenage central defender as a potential signing.
Liverpool eyeing up Ajax star
According to the Athletic, the Premier League champions are mainly interested in a deal to sign Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi to replace Quansah before the end of the summer transfer window.
However, the report claims that the Reds will only press ahead with a move for the England international if the Eagles, who won the FA Cup this season, quote a reasonable asking price for him.
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The Athletic, therefore, adds that Liverpool are looking at alternative options to Guehi, and Ajax central defender Jorrel Hato has emerged as a target for the club.
It was previously reported by FootballTransfers that Ajax value the centre-back at a fee of around £43m, and that fellow Premier League side Arsenal are also keen on the Dutchman.
Slot should, now, push for Liverpool to secure a deal to sign Hato this summer because he is an even bigger centre-back talent than both Guehi and Huijsen.
Why Hato is a bigger talent than Guehi and Huijsen
The 19-year-old star’s progress with Ajax at an incredibly young age suggests that he has huge potential and could go on to be a top centre-back in the future.
Hato, despite not turning 20 until March 2026, has played a staggering 111 first-team matches for the Dutch giants. Huijsen, for reference, has only played 53 career games at the age of 20, whilst Guehi had played just 26 matches by the age of 19, and 71 games by the age of 20.
This suggests that the Dutch starlet is a bigger talent at his age than Huijsen and Guehi were, because he played more than twice as many games as the Spaniard and over four times as many matches as the Englishman at the same age.
Hato has also captained Ajax several times, at the ages of just 17 and 18, which suggests that he can bring leadership qualities at a very young age, just as Guehi, who is Palace’s captain, can.
Appearances
31
34
Goals
2
3
Assists
6
2
Tackles + interceptions per game
2.6
2.6
Dribbled past per game
0.3x
0.5x
Ground duel success rate
51%
63%
Aerial duel success rate
55%
54%
As you can see in the table above, the 19-year-old starlet also matched up well against Guehi at league level this season, despite being five years younger than the Eagles star, as he won a higher percentage of his ground duels and was dribbled past less frequently.
Hato, who was hailed as “immense” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, also provides positional flexibility, as he has played 70 games or more as both a centre-back and a left-back.
Whereas Guehi has never played more than two matches away from a centre-back role, and Huijsen has never played any other position other than centre-back in his career.
This means that the Ajax titan would offer far more versatility to Slot, due to his ability to play at left-back, as well as the defensive and leadership qualities that he can offer.
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Overall, Liverpool could land an even bigger talent than Guehi and Huijsen because of what Hato has already achieved in his career at such a young age, and the quality that he can provide in the here and now.