Liverpool's pre-season tour of the USA has highlighted a defensive fragility that manager Andoni Iraola will need to address before the Premier League season begins. Despite winning two of three matches, the club conceded four goals in a chaotic second half against Leeds United, exposing a lack of depth at centre-back and right-back following the departures of Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate, and with several defensive options unavailable or unproven.

Liverpool conceded six goals across three friendlies, four of them coming within a 25-minute spell against Leeds in Chicago, after fielding an inexperienced backline including several fringe and academy players. Captain Virgil van Dijk is back in training but still needs a regular partner at centre-half before the league opener at Newcastle in under three weeks, with Joe Gomez, Giovanni Leoni and new signing Jeremy Jacquet all unavailable or eased back gradually. Sporting director Richard Hughes is expected to prioritise defensive reinforcements, while former captain Phil Thompson has called for senior players such as Dominik Szoboszlai to help fill the leadership void left by departed veterans.