Liverpool have been forced to battle a genuine injury crisis.

The Reds have lost a number of first-team stars in recent weeks, leading Jurgen Klopp to shuffle his pack.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Jordan Henderson, Xherdan Shaqiri, Naby Keita, Virgil van Dijk, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are all currently on the sidelines.

It means that Klopp has been forced to use a makeshift back four at times; against Leicester City, James Milner played at right-back, while Fabinho was drafted into the back four alongside Joel Matip.

They won the game, but against Atalanta in the Champions League the changes were significantly more pronounced as Neco Williams, Rhys Williams, and Konstantinos Tsimikas played in the back four. The Reds lost 2-0 at home.

With the January transfer window looming, then, it makes sense for Liverpool to be scouting potential defensive recruits.

Sport Witness carries a report from Corriere dello Sport claiming that the club have made the signing of Ajax defender Perr Schuurs a priority in the coming window.

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They are said to have entered into negotiations with the Dutch club over a possible deal, though he would cost €30m (£26.7m).

That is an affordable figure for Liverpool to reach, especially given the lack of depth at the back, and one has to imagine that it would be a shrewd investment.

Schuurs has made 12 appearances for Ajax in all competitions this season and played 83 minutes at centre-back in the 1-0 defeat to the Reds in the Champions League.

GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…

Schuurs has enjoyed a meteoric rise and this would only top it off.

He came through the ranks at Fortuna Sittard before earning his move to Amsterdam and he has taken it with both hands.

The central defender, who is just 21, has made 33 appearances in total for the club, and has even won a call-up to the Dutch national team, sitting on the bench for the Nations League games against Poland and Italy.

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Sealing a move to Liverpool would put the cherry on top of the icing on top of the cake for the defender.

Not only would he be moving to a genuinely elite club, he would also be learning from perhaps the best defender in world football in Van Dijk. This would be a dream move for him; Liverpool should make it happen.