Riise is excited by Reds' interest in German defender

LIVERPOOL have been told they may need to raid the Bundesliga again to find their longtime replacement for talismanic captain Virgil van Dijk.

- By PAUL WHEELOCK

That's the verdict of former Reds hero John Arne Riise, who has been assessing his old club’s centre-back options.

The Reds bolstered that department in the summer when they signed highly-rated teenager Giovanni Leoni for an initial £26million from Parma.

But had Crystal Palace not pulled the plug on deadline day, they would also have completed the £35m capture of Marc Guehi.

Leoni impressed on his Reds debut in September until disaster struck when he was stretchered off with an anterior cruciate ligament injury that will rule him out for the rest of the campaign.