Arne Slot has dismissed the urgency for Liverpool to recruit a new centre-back in January, suggesting instead that the Reds will focus on bolstering other positions. The current Premier League champions saw a £35m move for Marc Guehi fall through on transfer deadline day, and were later left with only three senior centre-backs available after Giovanni Leoni sustained a season-ending ACL injury during his debut in September.

Liverpool’s defensive performance this season has been less than stellar, having conceded 27 goals in their 18 matches so far and managing just four clean sheets to date. Ibrahima Konate, in particular, continues to face criticism following a series of disappointing performances, with speculation about his future at Anfield continuing ahead of his contract expiring next summer.

Joe Gomez also faces an uncertain future, having been rumoured for a move away in the summer before Guehi’s transfer fell through, while captain Virgil van Dijk will be 35 at the start of next season as he enters the final year of his contract.

However, Slot has downplayed the need for Liverpool to reinforce their centre-back position in January, reports the Mirror.

While he maintained that the Reds’ mid-season transfer plans are not his primary concern at present, given their recent struggles, he hinted that Liverpool are instead contemplating strengthening other areas of their squad amid ongoing rumours linking the reigning champions with a January move for Antoine Semenyo.

“This is one of the questions I didn’t expect, talking about signings and the winter break!” Slot said at his pre-match press conference ahead of the Reds’ clash with Nottingham Forest. “I think there are so many games to play before that.

“And the position we are in, it is the last thing that is on my mind. Maybe not on Richard (Hughes)’s, but it is the last thing on my mind. It is not a topic for me at the moment.

“We have at this moment in time three centre-backs, with Joe Gomez included of course. And maybe Ryan (Gravenberch) and Wata (Endo) who can play in the positions.

“Maybe you are not aware of it yet but we have other positions, at the moment, which is a bit more of an issue.”

The Reds are understood to be amongst the clubs monitoring Semenyo’s situation at Bournemouth ahead of January, with the Ghana international believed to possess a £65m release clause in his fresh deal penned last summer that would allow him to depart for a reduced fee when the transfer window reopens.