Liverpool have been linked with a move for Borussia Dortmund centre-back Manuel Akanji recently, as they look to add to their limited defensive options during the January transfer window.

What's the word? 

A report in the Daily Mail before the transfer window opened suggested that the Swiss international is being targeted by the Reds as an alternative option to RB Leipzig's Dayot Upamecano.

The £22.5 million rated defender has been a regular in the Dortmund side so far this season, making 11 appearances in the Bundesliga and averaging a very solid 6.93 rating.

Lovren 2.0?

However, the Reds would be best avoiding the 25-year-old in January, as he has shown himself to be extremely error-prone during his time with the German side and endured a disastrous season last time out, which saw him average a poor 6.66 rating across his 29 appearances in the German top-flight.

Although he remained a regular under Lucien Favre last season, BVB Buzz labelled the centre-back as Dortmund's 'most disappointing player', suggesting that he looked 'sloppy' and 'error-prone' throughout the season.

They also suggest that he made a number of costly errors which led to Dortmund dropping points, with only the form of Mats Hummels alongside him meaning that they were still able to grind out wins.

Therefore, Akanji could definitely be said to have a worrying similarity to former Liverpool centre-back Dejan Lovren, who was also prone to errors during his time with the club, with the dominance of Virgil van Dijk alongside him perhaps making him look a lot better than he actually was.

Of course, a lot of Reds fans will be regretting the club's decision to sell the Croatian to Zenit St Petersburg in the summer after their defensive crisis so far this season but the Merseyside club should not rush into a panic decision on Akanji.

Signing him may well do more harm than good, especially when it seems likely that Michael Edwards would have to shell out a large fee to bring him to Anfield this month.

Therefore, the Reds should look elsewhere for a replacement centre-back during the winter transfer window.

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