Andoni Iraola has been on the job for barely a week and a half, but it has not taken him long to work out where Liverpool are vulnerable. Speaking to the press in Chicago at the start of the club's pre-season tour to the United States, the new head coach was candid about the state of his defensive options. Thin. Too thin.

The World Cup absentees have made things look worse than they might otherwise, but strip that back and the picture is still a concerning one. Liverpool have spent the best part of £100million bringing in Giovanni Leoni and Jeremy Jacquet as the centre-backs of the future — yet neither has played a single minute of Premier League football, and Leoni is already injured. At right-back, Conor Bradley remains the clear first choice when fit, but Iraola himself has acknowledged that could be months away. Jeremie Frimpong is available, though he had injury problems of his own last season. Kostas Tsimikas is another option if Liverpool are really stuck, his future at the club still uncertain.

Vast experience? Joe Gomez provides some. Milos Kerkez is the only other player in the defensive group who can point to more than one season of Premier League football. For a side with genuine ambitions of competing on every front, that is a precarious position to be in.

And then there is the longer view. Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are both out of contract at the end of the season, meaning decisions will need to be made. Jarell Quansah could return next summer if Liverpool activate an existing arrangement, but even with that, the numbers at centre-back remain tight. Iraola needs bodies who can play now, not projects who need time and coaxing.

So what does Liverpool's ideal defensive recruit look like? Premier League experience. Ready to contribute immediately. Capable of accepting a role that does not guarantee a starting place every single week. That is a fairly specific profile — and yet there is a name that fits it almost perfectly.

Ilya Zabarnyi. Twenty-three years old, Ukrainian international, and a player who spent two seasons working under Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth. During that time he missed just three league matches, a record of reliability and consistency that speaks for itself. Paris Saint-Germain were convinced enough to pay £57million for him last summer. He joined the European champions, started regularly in their Ligue 1 campaign, but featured in just seven of their Champions League fixtures. For a player of his quality and age, that has to sting.

Here is where it gets interesting from Liverpool's perspective. Iraola already knows exactly what Zabarnyi offers. He has worked with him, trusted him, built a defensive unit around him. That familiarity is worth something, and not just in abstract terms — it means there is no settling-in period, no guess work about whether the player can handle the demands. Iraola knows he can. And the chance to play under a manager who did so much for his development, in a league he already knows well, ought to hold genuine appeal for Zabarnyi himself.

As an added bonus, he can play at right-back if required. In Liverpool's current situation, versatility like that is not a nice extra — it is almost essential.

The obvious obstacle is the fee. PSG paid £57million for Zabarnyi just a year ago, and there is little reason to think they would entertain offers much below that figure. These are not negotiations Liverpool can bluff their way through. It would take serious money, serious intent, and serious persuasion to pull it off.

But consider what they would be getting. A centre-back with two seasons of top-flight English football behind him, proven in a high-intensity pressing system under the very same manager now sitting in the Anfield dugout, and young enough to still be at the heart of the Liverpool defence long after the current contract situations involving their senior defenders have been resolved. That is not just a short-term fix. That is genuine future-proofing.

Liverpool face a crowded window with needs across the pitch. Iraola has already been explicit about wanting a new right winger, and that search will command its own attention. But at the back, the priority feels increasingly clear. One solution keeps surfacing wherever you look.

Whether PSG are willing to sell, and at what price, is the question that will define Liverpool's defensive business this summer.