Frankfurt’s versatile 22-year-old is the kind of name Liverpool’s planners should be watching

There is a familiar rhythm to Liverpool’s scouting stories at this time of year, and the latest name to surface is one we think deserves more than a passing glance. Nnamdi Collins, the 22-year-old Eintracht Frankfurt defender, is being tracked by a number of Premier League sides, and Liverpool are said to be among them, according to Fussball News.

On its own, a monitoring report is hardly headline material. What makes this one interesting is the timing, and the shape of the player involved.

A defence that needs a plan, not a panic

Andoni Iraola has had a bright opening few months since arriving in June, but the last week has exposed some cracks. Losing 1-0 at home to Arsenal without managing a single shot on target was a sobering afternoon, and the 3-2 defeat to Fenerbahce that followed ended a perfect European run. Neither result demands a January splurge, yet both are a reminder that this squad still has gaps to manage.

The bigger issue at the back is time. Virgil van Dijk’s contract enters its final year next summer, and Joe Gomez is drifting towards the end of his own deal too. That is two experienced centre-backs whose futures need resolving, and sporting director Julian Ward will have to stay ahead of the curve rather than chase it. Succession at centre-back is the kind of problem that looks distant right up until it is suddenly urgent.

What Collins actually brings

Collins is not a household name in England, and in our view that is part of the appeal. He can operate at centre-back or on the right, he is still early in his development, and he is playing regular football in a Bundesliga that rarely lets defenders hide. Scouts are reported to have watched him with both Frankfurt and Germany’s Under-21 side, including against Georgia, though nothing suggests talks have actually begun.

He also differs from the other defenders Liverpool have been loosely connected with. Nico Schlotterbeck and Murillo would be ready-made arrivals with bigger reputations. Collins is more of a project, someone who could grow into a starring role under Iraola’s coaching rather than walk in as the finished article.

The price and the patience required

Here is where reality bites. Frankfurt have no intention of selling in January, and they do not need to. Collins signed an extension in December 2024 that keeps him at the club until June 2030, so almost all of the leverage sits with the German side. The reported valuation is around €35m, with earlier talk in Germany putting it closer to €40m.

That is serious money for a player who is still developing, and it explains why this feels like a slow burner. If Liverpool want him, the summer is the far more realistic window, and even then Frankfurt will negotiate hard.

Our take

We like the logic here more than the immediacy. Liverpool should not be making defensive decisions off the back of one poor week, but they absolutely should be building a pipeline for the post-Van Dijk era, and that work has to start now, not when the contract clock is down to a handful of months.

A versatile young defender with Bundesliga minutes and room to improve fits neatly into that thinking. A fee of that size demands a player with genuine ceiling as well as present usefulness, and on paper Collins offers both. Whether he is the top name on the list or simply one of several is unclear, but he is exactly the type of profile a joined-up recruitment department should be studying closely.

For now, file him under ones to watch. If the scouting turns into something firmer next year, this could become a story worth following properly.