The seven most expensive defenders Liverpool have ever signed, with next big deal due

Liverpool once set a new world record for a transfer fee paid for a defender and could be ready to splash the cash on their backline again in 2024.

They might have missed out on Leny Yoro, as the 18-year-old French centre-back appears set to sign for Manchester United, but Liverpool have not closed the door on bolstering their backline this summer.

As TEAMtalk exclusively revealed, the Reds have identified one of the stars of England’s Euro 2024 campaign, Marc Guehi, as a primary target, while the Anfield club have also been linked with moves for Goncalo Inacio, Jeremie Frimpong and Rayan Ait-Nouri.

Liverpool have spent big on defenders in the past. And with the obvious exception of one overwhelming success, their record when dipping into the transfer market for rear-guard reinforcements is mixed.

Here are the seven most expensive defensive signings Liverpool have ever made.

7. Alberto Moreno – £12 million

When Liverpool paid £12 million to sign a 22-year-old Alberto Moreno from Sevilla in August 2012, the Spain international was regarded as one of the most exciting young defenders in Europe.

Moreno went on to play 141 games for the Reds, scoring three goals and providing 11 assists. He remained a regular starter for the club in Jurgen Klopp’s first season at the Anfield helm and started the 2016 Europa League final.

But the attack-minded left-back was criticised for his performance in a 3-1 defeat to Sevilla in that game and he lost his place the next term to converted midfielder James Milner.

After Andrew Robertson was signed from Hull City in 2017, Moreno was seldom considered for selection on the left side of the Liverpool backline. He remained on Merseyside until the summer of 2019, when he joined Villarreal on a free transfer after being released.

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6. Nathaniel Clyne – £12.5 million

In one of a succession of deals that saw Liverpool sign players – often at significant expense – from Southampton, right-back Nathaniel Clyne moved to Anfield in a £12.5 million deal in 2015.

An agile and athletic full-back with an impressive engine to traverse the touchline, Clyne had impressed in three top-flight seasons with the Saints after a switch from boyhood club Crystal Palace.

The England international was a regular starter for the Reds in his first two seasons with the club, appearing in all but six of Liverpool’s Premier League fixtures over that period. But then his career became blighted by injuries and he was never able to rediscover his best form.

After a loan spell with Bournemouth, Clyne returned to Palace as a free agent in the summer of 2020.

5. Glen Johnson – £17.5 million

When Glen Johnson arrived at Liverpool in a £17.5 million move from Portsmouth in the summer of 2009, it was the England full-back’s second opportunity with one of the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ clubs.

Six years earlier, as a teenager, the former West Ham standout was the first Chelsea signing of the Roman Abramovich era. He ultimately made little impact at Stamford Bridge, but he starred across three seasons with Pompey, impressing with his dynamism in attack and quality of delivery from wide.

Chelsea tried to re-sign Johnson from Portsmouth, but Liverpool won the race for the highly rated England player. In six seasons with the Reds, he played 200 games, scoring nine goals and providing 16 assists.

4. Mamadou Sakho – £18 million

Liverpool’s £18 million signing of Mamadou Sakho in 2013 was an ambitious move that saw the Reds secure a gifted centre-back who was a senior France international and previously been regarded as one of the best young defenders in Europe after breaking through with Paris Saint-Germain.

And at times, Sakho delivered on the promise of his big-money arrival, demonstrating athleticism, power and technical ability.

But Sakho was ultimately a frustrating figure, with injuries, poor form and fallouts negatively colouring his time at Anfield. His Reds stay came to an end in January 2017 when he was sold to Crystal Palace after Klopp had demoted him to the reserves for consistent poor timekeeping.

Liverpool did, however, turn a profit on Sakho, as Palace paid £26 million to make his initial loan move permanent.

3. Dejan Lovren – £20 million

Another expensive purchase from Southampton, Liverpool paid £20 million to sign Dejan Lovren in July 2014, setting a record as the club’s most expensive defender that would last until they signed another Saints centre-back three and a half years later.

Injuries and high-profile errors saw Lovren slide down the Anfield pecking order over the final years of his six seasons with the club, but he was still a member of the squad that won a sixth European Cup in 2019 and a first top-flight title in three decades a year later.

Lovren left to join Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2020 after 185 appearances and eight goals for Liverpool.

2. Ibrahima Konate – £36 million

French centre-back Ibrahima Konate became the second most-expensive defender in Liverpool’s history when he moved to Merseyside from RB Leipzig in a £36 million deal in 2021.

Considered the total package in terms of the skills desired of a modern centre-back, Konate boasts pace, athleticism, size, strength and quality on the ball, all of which he has displayed in great measure since joining the Reds.

Injuries have held back the 25-year-old France international in his Liverpool career do date, though, with Konate starting less than half of the club’s Premier League fixtures since his arrival.

1. Virgil van Dijk – £75 million

When Liverpool signed Virgil van Dijk from Southampton for £75 million midway through the 2018-19 season, they brought to an end an arduous transfer saga that had seen the Saints rebuff their initial approach and accuse them of improper conduct.

The fee the Reds forked out for the Dutchman was also a world-record for a defender, a sum so sizeable as to put off rival interest from Manchester City.

But Van Dijk has proven well worth the wait, the effort and the money across six and a half seasons at Anfield. Firmly established as one of the best defenders of his generation, the 33-year-old has appeared 270 times for Liverpool, scoring 23 goals and exerting an enormous influence over Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and EFL Cup triumphs.

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