Liverpool defender bizarrely ruled out vs Arsenal as Jurgen Klopp left without 10 first team players
Owen Beck will serve an historical one-match suspension against Arsenal as Kostas Tsimikas hints at Liverpool return
Owen Beck won’t be available to face Arsenal on Sunday despite Liverpool recalling him from an impressive loan spell at Dundee to bolster their depleted defensive options.
The Wales Under-21s international returned to Merseyside earlier this week after his temporary move north of the border was cut short, and was pictured training with Jurgen Klopp’s first team squad on Friday. But the Athletic report that he won’t be able to face the Gunners in the FA Cup third round despite his recall as he has to serve a suspension.
Beck was shown yellow cards in Scottish League Cup matches against Bonnyrigg Rose and Inverness Caledonian Thistle last July. With Dundee failing to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition, he was unable to fulfil the suspension with the club.
Consequently, the FA have confirmed to the Athletic that still has an unserved one-match ban against his name from his time in Scotland and it will be served in his next competitive first team match. As a result, the 21-year-old will have to sit out Sunday’s match.
Beck, who made two substitute appearances for Liverpool during the 2021/22 season, impressed in his 20 appearances for Dundee, registering two goals and two assists. Such form earned him a maiden senior international call-up last year.
The Reds opted to recall the defender from his season-long loan in the Scottish Premiership after losing Kostas Tsimikas to a broken collarbone last month. Andy Robertson remains sidelined after suffering a dislocated shoulder during the October international break.
“Now the situation here is clear,” Klopp told reporters on Friday when explaining Liverpool’s decision to recall the defender. “We lose two of our left-backs so we think it makes sense if a boy we like is available for us, we bring him back. That’s all.”
Joe Gomez has lined up at left-back in their absence and, with Beck suspended, is likely to retain his position against Arsenal at the Emirates. The Welshman will then be eligible to feature in Wednesday’s League Cup semi-final first leg against Fulham.
Beck’s suspension means the Reds will be without 10 first team players when they travel to the Emirates. Robertson and Tsimikas remain sidelined, along with fellow long-term absentees Thiago Alcantara, Stefan Bajcetic, Joel Matip, and Ben Doak. Meanwhile, Dominik Szoboszlai has been ruled out of Liverpool’s next two matches after suffering a hamstring injury, while Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo have departed to compete in the Africa Cup of Nations and Asian Cup respectively.
While Robertson and Tsimikas are still injured, the pair continued their rehabilitation on Friday as both were pictured training at the AXA Training Centre.
The Scot is yet to return to team training, with Klopp previously admitting he hopes the full-back could make a comeback at the end of January. However, he was spotted working hard in the gym before heading out onto the grass for an individual session.
Meanwhile, Tsimikas offered a hint about his own injury return when posting a picture on social media of himself training outside on the grass. ‘Not long now!’ he wrote as the accompanying caption.
Another player who will be unavailable to face Arsenal is goalkeeper Marcelo Pitaluga after he joined Irish side St Patrick’s Athletic on loan. The Brazilian, who signed a contract extension with Liverpool prior to his temporary departure, joined the Reds from Fluminense in a £1m deal in October 2020 and spent the first half of last season on loan at Macclesfield.
An unused substitute for Liverpool on seven occasions, he has been named on the Reds’ bench three times this season, against Sheffield United in the Premier League, and LASK and Union SG in the Europa League.
The 21-year-old could make his debut for St Pat’s when they begin their 2024 campaign in the Leinster Senior Cup later this month, before the new Irish Premier Division season gets under way in February.
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The transfer saga surrounding Kylian Mbappe continues after Liverpool and Real Madrid were linked with fresh moves for the France captain
Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe has already sacrificed £69m ahead of a possible transfer.
The France captain’s future has long been an ongoing saga that re-emerges in each transfer window. Back in the summer, Mbappe was frozen out of Luis Enrique’s PSG squad after refusing to sign a one-year-extension, before eventually being reintegrated into the team and has since scored 22 goals in 23 games in all competitions.
Despite signing a new deal as recently as 2022, Mbappe has entered the last six months of his contract. This means that the 25-year-old is able to begin discussing pre-contract agreements with clubs outside of France, leading to new links with a move to Liverpool in recent days.
The Reds have a long-term interest in the World Cup winner, dating back to his time at Monaco, as the goalscorer has previously revealed that he held talks over a possible move to Anfield. Spanish giants Real Madrid have often been touted as the frontrunners for Mbappe’s signature and could potentially finally land their man as a free agent in the summer.
The finances involved remain complex, as reported by Caught Offside. After opting to stay with PSG beyond the recent summer transfer window, the forward was claimed to be in line for a loyalty bonus, worth up to £69m.
However, it has been reported that Mbappe has decided to forgo the first instalment of that payment, with the suggestion that the attacker would be willing to waive the bonus completely, if he was to leave PSG at the end of the season.
As Mbappe is theoretically able to begin discussing pre-contract agreements with other clubs, the speculation over his future at the Parc des Princes has increased, once again. However, the forward has insisted that he is solely focused on enjoying a successful season where he is.
“I’m very, very, very motivated for this year. It’s very important,” he said. “As I said, we’ve got titles to go after and we’ve already won one, so that’s already done. After that, no, I haven’t made up my mind yet. But in any case, with the agreement I made with the chairman this summer, it doesn’t matter what I decide.
“We managed to protect all parties and preserve the club’s serenity for the challenges ahead, which remains the most important thing. So we’ll say it’s secondary.”
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