Liverpool are interested in bringing New York Red Bulls defender Aaron Long on a half-season loan, according to ESPN.
Long has been considered a ‘late bloomer’, catching the eyes of European clubs at the age of 28. Having previously been on the books at Portland Timbers and played in the USL Championship for Sacramento Republic and the Orange County Blues, he joined NY Red Bulls’ reserve team in 2016 and earned first-team promotion the following year.
Since then, he’s made 120 appearances for the club in all competitions and was named the MLS Defender of the Year in 2018. His high-quality performances earned him a place in the USMNT, and he is now an 18-time American international who has scored three times for his country.
Liverpool lost Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez to knee injuries within a space of several weeks for the whole season – a disaster few clubs in the world would have been able to cope with. Midfielder Fabinho has been playing in the heart of defence, alongside either injury-prone Joel Matip, or one between Nathaniel Phillips, 23, and 19-year-old Rhys Williams. But now, Fabinho is injured as well, and Matip was forced off with an ankle problem at halftime of Liverpool’s win away to Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday. Captain Jordan Henderson played that whole game as a centre-back, joined in the second half by Phillips.
The Premier League champions didn’t seem too willing to dip into the market mid-season, but the injuries to Fabinho and Matip, practically at the same time, have reportedly forced them to change the tune. The only problem is, they now have only two days to sort the issue out, with the European transfer window closing on Monday evening at 11PM BST. And the potential selling clubs in any deal will be well aware of their desperation, which means no player will come cheap, unless they go for a free agent.
