Speaking to Football Insider, former England striker Kevin Phillips has backed Liverpool to make a move for David Alaba.
The Bayern Munich star has seen his contract offer rescinded by Bayern Munich after failing to agree a new deal and will be out of contract at the end of the season. Free to talk to foreign clubs in January, a player of his stature will surely command a lot of interest.
With Virgil van Dijk suffering a long-term injury after a collision with Jordan Pickford last month, Phillips certainly believes the Premier League champions will be keen.
“Alaba is definitely an option'', he said.
“It is certainly an area that Liverpool will look at. He has a lot of quality and can play in a number of positions.
“He will definitely be a player that Klopp will look at and Klopp will know him well. He will be in contact with people that know him very well.''
Indeed, it's not hard to imagine decision-makers at Anfield being interested by the time 2021 rolls around.
Even prior to Van Dijk's injury, Jamie Carragher noted how his former club were weak in that area after the sale of Dejan Lovren over the course of the summer. Joel Matip, meanwhile, has struggled with injuries.
Given his trophy-laden spell in Bavaria, Alaba needs little introducing. After all, this is a man to have won nine Bundesliga titles and two Champions Leagues across his decade in the first-team with Bayern, playing at both left-back and centre-half.
Even this season, the Austrian international is averaging more successful defensive actions per 90 minutes than either Gomez or Matip (11.5 to 7.7 and 7.64 respectively) and his greater rate of successful ball recoveries in the opponent's half (3.16 per 90 compared to 3.01 and 1.7) could be particularly useful considering Liverpool's high defensive line.
With that in mind, it's easy to see why Jurgen Klopp may be interested and why Phillips has backed the potential move.