Liverpool urged to sign Mustafi after missing out on Sokratis

Liverpool has been urged to make a move for Shkodran Mustafi this month as they continue to play without their main centre backs.

The Reds have seen Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez suffer long-term injuries this season, and it has affected their performances.

Jurgen Klopp has had to use Fabinho and Jordan Henderson in defence for much of this campaign.

The Reds reportedly wanted to sign Sokratis Papastathopoulos before he moved back home to Olympiacos.

They are still struggling to get a fit defender with Joel Matip the latest to pick up an injury.

Mustafi has been reinvented under Mikel Arteta after years of being one of the worse defenders in the Premier League.

The German has, however, struggled to break into the Arsenal team this season, and Liverpool has been urged to sign him as a cover for their defence until the end of the season.

Rio Ferdinand said on BT Sport via TalkSport: “I’m not saying you are going to go and get your ‘A’ class, main centre-back right now, but there must be some sort of stopgap somewhere to fill that void.

“Because you are saying now, ‘we will play with a central midfield partnership that are now going to be our centre-back partnership, or I’m going to play with two very inexperienced players.”

Jermaine Jenas then suggested the Arsenal centre-back:

“Let’s just say that stopgap was Sokratis who came in, or Mustafi,” said Jenas. “A centre-half out there who’s not getting a game.

“Are Liverpool fans going to be happy about it?”

“Is Jurgen Klopp looking at that and saying, ‘I’ve got an actual centre-half and this is better than Fabinho and Matip, or Henderson and Fabinho?

“Is it better, that stopgap, than what you’ve already got?”