According to the UK Telegraph, the Premier League champions
have been without first-choice center-back pairing Virgil van Dijk and Joe
Gomez for much of the 2020/2021 season.
The duo have sustained serious knee ligament injuries.
Their absence has been felt even harder because of Joel
Matip’s sketchy injury record, with the Cameroonian again picking up a knock
against Spurs, while stand-in defender Fabinho also has a niggle.
Liverpool have been linked with a host of defenders like
Lille’s Sven Botman and RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano, but neither club are
likely to sell during January, particularly so late in the window.
Klopp has now set his sights on Mustafi, with the
28-year-old not starting a single league fixture for the Gunners this season.
The German defender also has six months left on his current
contract, but Arsenal could terminate his contract early this month and make
him a free agent.