Having not signed a defender during the previous transfer window, that is — alongside finding a world-class holding midfielder that can unleash Alexis Mac Allister a little higher up the pitch — the next priority for Jürgen Klopp to address.
With an aging backline and Joël Matip out of contract at the end of the season, Liverpool needs to be looking to the future in its defense before wholesale changes are needed all in one go.
With that in mind, Liverpool, as well as Manchester United, Arsenal and Bayern Munich, is among the sides keeping an eye on the full-back, the Sunday Mirror reports, with a price tag of at least $61m (£50m/€57m) suggested.
That would be a steep valuation, but Brentford and its impressive manager, Thomas Frank, do not want to lose the Scotland international, who was only brought in from Bologna in Serie A just over a year ago. The valuation is designed to ward off suitors, but the West London club is one that will sell at the right price.
Hickey, a 21-year-old who is very experienced, would not classify as being a homegrown player (because he has played in Scotland and Italy previously, rather than for three years in England or Wales) but does come with the benefit of being able to play on both sides of the defense. He has played mainly on the right this season, but has more often played on the left throughout his senior career
For Liverpool, in need of cover for Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, that profile could be ideal. Kostas Tsimikas has done a good job of being second choice to Robertson on the left and the hope is that Conor Bradley and Calvin Ramsay can kick on to play from the right, but it is much easier to convince a player to be a back-up option if he is the rotation option for two positions.
Hickey is a more defensively-minded full-back (on whichever side he plays) than Robertson or Alexander-Arnold are normally, but that is not necessarily a bad thing for Liverpool.
If Robertson was missing, he could naturally slot in on the left and play a more conservative role, allowing Alexander-Arnold to drift into midfield safe in the knowledge there were three players behind him. If Alexander-Arnold was out, Hickey could fill in there and Robertson would have more attacking license.
Interestingly, FBref lists Manchester City’s Manuel Akanji as the fourth-most similar player to Hickey out of Europe’s top-five leagues based on the data.
While Akanji is not the most exciting player in the world, he did help Pep Guardiola win a treble by being a reliable and stable option to put into the team, facilitating the more glamorous jobs to be done by more attack-minded stars. For a fee of just $18m (£15m/€17m) from Borussia Dortmund, the Swiss was a masterstroke who played a really vital role as the Citizens won the treble.
Given Hickeyis only 21, he could be molded a little more into what Liverpool needs and he could even do enough to reach a level where he could one day take over from Robertson full-time. For $61m it seems unlikely, but for a more reasonable amount, a move could make a lot of sense in January or the summer.
