Liverpool gave it all they could to sign Marc Guehi this summer, but missed out as Crystal Palace backed out in the final hours of deadline day. Many have been left to wonder if this will prove costly for this season's Premier League title defence.
As the ECHO reported, Liverpool had a £35m package lined up including a 10 percent sell-on clause, Guehi had permission to undergo a medical in London, and he looked set to sign a five-year contract ahead of the 7pm cut-off. Then it became apparent Palace were not signing the replacement they had intended to, so late discussions between manager Oliver Glasner and chairman Steve Parish stopped the transfer in its tracks.
The Reds' submission of a deal sheet to afford themselves an additional two hours to get the transfer complete proved futile and the central defender has remained at Selhurst Park, at least for now.
This sucker punch leaves Arne Slot with Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez as tried and tested central defensive options for the first stint of the season. They were joined by 18-year-old summer signing Giovanni Leoni, who arrived from Parma in a £26m deal having made 17 appearances last season.
Before the next opportunity to make a signing Liverpool will have the struggle of balancing Premier League duties with six of the Champions League's eight league phase fixtures, plus there could be up to three rounds of the Carabao Cup to be played dependant on the Reds' progression.
Gomez arrived into the season with a niggling injury problem and seeing Konate limp off against Arsenal last weekend will have proven a worry given his track record.
But Slot is a problem solver and has several Swiss Army knife players with the versatility to step in, in the event of any central defensive issues.
One is Andy Robertson, though he might be needed to play his natural left-back role. Another Wataru Endo, but again the midfielder may be needed in his natural position.
That is where the head coach could land on Trey Nyoni, who was part of an interesting pre-season experiment moving from the comfort of midfield into the heart of defence during the 4-1 pre-season win over Athletic Bilbao at Anfield.
He was needed in the absence of Van Dijk, who suffered illness at the time, and did himself proud by all accounts. Nyoni was given a match rating of seven out of 10 by the ECHO's Ian Doyle, who wrote: "Emergency centre-back but, two unwise passes aside out of defence, the 18-year-old embraced the challenge. Switched back to midfield shortly after half-time."
The teenager has not featured in any of Slot's Premier League matchday squads so far since but is clearly a player with the heart to step up. That could also prove to be a benefit as he would join the senior squad not tied to a specific position like Robertson and Endo have been for the majority of their long careers.
On his 18th birthday at the end of June, Nyoni put pen to paper on a new long-term contract as reward for his progression over the prior 12 months.
He had originally been signed from Leicester City's academy in the summer of 2023 and for now could be considered a free signing as the clubs did not come to an agreement over a fee. An exact compensatory total is set to be decided via tribunal at a yet-to-be-determined point in the future.
During his first season, he emerged off the bench in an FA Cup win over Southampton in February 2024 aged 16 years and 243 days, thus becoming the club's fourth-youngest-ever debutant.
Nyoni was then given opportunities during Slot's first pre-season in charge and scored at Anfield for the first time in a 4-1 friendly win over Sevilla. His 2024/25 campaign also marked a successful rise from the Reds' Under-18s side into the Under-21s, and a full senior debut in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals against Southampton at St Mary's last December.
Finally, he is now also the youngest player to feature in Europe for Liverpool, having been introduced as a substitute for the Champions League defeat at PSV Eindhoven in January, aged 17 years and 213 days.
So, the next major milestone Nyoni should have is eye on is having an impact in the Premier League for the reigning champions.
An opportunity could arise over the coming months under the correct circumstances, so for now the youngster will have to bide his time. More likely would be the opportunity to feature in rotated teams in Liverpool's European and domestic cup campaigns.
Again, without Guehi's addition and the potential of injuries to a susceptible back line, Nyoni could find he is called upon by Slot in an unusual but not unfamiliar role.