Don't let Chelsea get him! €9m agreement must trigger Liverpool deal

Don't let Chelsea get him! €9m agreement must trigger Liverpool deal Liverpool can't let Chelsea sign someone who would be an incredible player for the Reds. A €9m agreement has triggered the race. Centre-backs are going to be incredibly high on the agenda at Anfield this summer as the Reds look to fix an enormous incoming problem. They essentially have no experienced centre-backs contracted to the club beyond next June. Virgil van Dijk will be out of contract. Joe Gomez will also be out of contract. Ronald Araujo's loan deal with Barcelona will expire. That leaves just Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni as current first-team options who will be on the books. And one of them hasn't actually played football for over a year now. It's absolutely vital that Liverpool sign at least one centre-back, then. Perhaps Araujo joins permanently, or there's a renewed contract but they'd still need someone to boost the numbers. We think the right player is obvious, too, but it means stopping Chelsea from dictating the race. Chelsea can't be allowed to sign Jacobo Ramon The Daily Mail reports that Como's Jacobo Ramon is right up there on Chelsea's shortlist as they hunt for a new centre-back. We're massive fans of the Spanish defender here, with our Value Adder model rating him incredibly highly last season . Though, he's only really sort of 'Como's Jacobo Ramon'. That's because Real Madrid have a buyback clause for the player and it's extraordinarily low, per Matteo Moretto . Los Blancos plan to re-sign Ramon for around €9m. That will allow them to sell him on - or integrate him themselves - but that buyback triggers a free-for-all to land the centre-back. And Liverpool can't let Chelsea waltz in and strike a deal here. They were reportedly blown away by the player earlier this year when scouting him and that's certainly the impression we get from his data. Given the need for a centre-back, there aren't many signings possible for Liverpool that look more exciting than this one. Thus letting him head to London would feel a disaster - Ramon might be the best bet to replace Virgil van Dijk, ultimately.