Rumour Mongering: Liverpool Keen on Keane

If there is a possibility of adding a centre back this summer, Liverpool should not hesitate in trying to make this a reality. The reason is simple. Joël Matip is a very good centre back, Joe Gomez is young, Mamadou Sakho is in exile, Dejan Lovren is a decent first reserve masquerading as a regular starter, Ragnar Klavan should be a number four or five in the pecking order, and Lucas Leiva is essentially an emergency option who is probably in his final season at the club.

Enter Virgil Van Dijk Michael Keane, a defender who has impressed at the heart of the Burnley defence. Maybe he’ll turn out to be the pleasant surprise that Danny Ings was without the soul-crushing knee injuries, inspiring training montage videos, and silky dances moves. Jürgen Klopp is supposedly interested in Keane, a player who was linked with a January move to Premier League champions Leicester City.

This news has been floating around the internet since midday on Monday if you live in the UK, but this rumour was already a little stale when it slipped out of the international break rumour mongering factory. Maybe there's something in wanting Keane, but he doesn't play on the left side of the defence like his partner Ben Mee. Maybe Liverpool should be linked with Ben Mee as he'd probably be an upgrade on Klavan or Lucas as a left-sided centre back. Ben Mee to Liverpool, then?

Joël Matip plays on the right with anyone else not named Sakho (don't forget to argue about him in the comments) on the left, but there have been questions surrounding how difficult it is for centre backs to switch sides. The easiest and clearly most creative solution would be to pester Southampton for yet another of their players especially as he’s a left-sided centre back with the requisite composure, passing range, intelligence, athleticism, and aerial ability to help put an end to posting midtable defensive numbers.

Enough about a player who'd probably be more expensive and less attainable than Sadio Mané. So, back to Michael Keane. He's also been linked with Everton and Manchester City as the summer transfer window feels closer than ever in the midst of the final international break of the season. His physicality, aggression, concentration, and aerial ability would complement Matip’s unruffled style of defending. To make matters even more interesting, Keane possesses the combination of being a good age for a defender at 24 and a former Manchester United player.

Objections to picking up a player with history at Manchester United matter little if he can help the existing squad make the next step under Klopp, but is Michael Keane is good enough for Liverpool FC?