Liverpool finally move for a new defender! Arne Slot gets his wish as Premier League champions open talks for trusted ally on loan at Sunderland

Liverpool head coach Slot has made no secret of his desire to bring in defenders ahead of Monday's transfer deadline. The Reds nearly signed Marc Guehi at the end of the summer window, only for Crystal Palace to pull the plug at the eleventh hour having failed to find a replacement, and they instead sold their club captain to Manchester City in January.

Slot has lost the likes of Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni to injury, while the club ultimately decided against selling Andy Robertson to Tottenham earlier this week having recognised their lack of options in defence. After Saturday's 4-1 win against Newcastle, Slot told reporters: "I think we are trying to strengthen the squad and not trying to weaken it. But yeah, 48 hours to go. Let's see where the window ends up."

According to Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool have opened talks to sign Geertruida. The Netherlands international, who can play at right-back, centre-back and in midfield, is currently on a straight loan at Sunderland from RB Leipzig.

Ben Jacobs has added that Liverpool would take over Geertruida's loan for the remainder of the season having been presented with the 'opportunity' to sign him in recent days.

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Geertruida, a native of Rotterdam, came through the Feyenoord academy and was promoted into the first-team squad in 2017. He then became a key member of the side under Slot, notably helping Feyenoord reach the 2021-22 Europa Conference League final and winning the 2022-23 Dutch Eredivisie.

After seven years in Feyenoord's senior setup, Geertruida joined German side RB Leipzig in 2024, making 35 appearances in all competitions before being made available for loan for the 2025-26 season.

Leipzig were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool during the 2024-25 Champions League, with Geertruida waxing lyrical about Slot before that game. "Arne managed to get the best out of me," he said. "He was never afraid to give me some harsh truths and was always correct in what he said about me. I believe he was a game changer for Feyernoord as soon as he arrived in Rotterdam. We always looked to play a dominant style of football, no matter the opponent. That led to us winning both the league title and the cup, as well as also getting us to a Conference League final. That shows he did a really great job. He is an intelligent coach who knows how he wants to go about things. Off the field he is also very open and is always prepared to listen to what you have to say and is easy to have a conversation with."

Geertruida is due to be in action with Sunderland on Monday, with the Black Cats kicking off against Burnley one hour after the 7pm transfer deadline. However, whether he remains on Wearside or heads to Liverpool remains to be seen.