Liverpool's Defensive Dilemma: Chambers, Celtic, and Ndukwe's Future

Liverpool are not short of bodies these days. Between the first team and a bustling academy, the squad is stacked. Every player has a place in the system, at least on paper.

Last season blew that theory apart.

An injury crisis ripped through the club and forced Arne Slot into constant improvisation. Line-ups shifted, systems bent, and yet one thing barely changed: his reluctance to lean on most of the club’s youngsters. Aside from Rio Ngumoha, the pathway felt blocked. Anfield looked stuck in neutral.

And then came Andoni Iraola.

The Spaniard has walked in and immediately cracked a window open for the next generation. Lewis Koumas, Trey Nyoni, Isaac Mabaya – names that felt peripheral under Slot – now look set for meaningful roles this season. The message is clear: if you’re good enough, you’re close enough.

But that new faith in youth has also sharpened some difficult decisions.

Celtic circle Chambers

Defence was always going to be a priority this summer. Liverpool moved decisively, bringing in Ronald Araujo and Jeremy Jacquet to stiffen the back line. Given how thin they were last term, it still never felt like enough.

Depth mattered. That’s why players like Mabaya and Luke Chambers were initially kept around. Insurance policies. Break-glass options.

Now that stance is shifting.

According to journalist Lewis Bower, Celtic have a serious interest in Chambers. “I wonder, eh. Celtic really like Luke Chambers,” he posted on X, hinting at a potential January move to the Scottish champions.

On the surface, it’s a minor subplot. Chambers is currently Liverpool’s fifth-choice centre-back. But the fact the club are open to finding him a new home tells a different story. It suggests a space is being cleared.

And that space has a name: Ifeanyi Ndukwe.

The Ndukwe dilemma

Ndukwe turned heads in pre-season. The Austrian defender played with the poise of a veteran, reading danger early, timing his tackles, and carrying himself like someone who had been in the side for years. With Ibrahima Konate gone and a sizeable hole in the back line, fans quickly latched onto him as a potential solution.

He looked ready. The paperwork didn’t.

Without an immediate work permit, Liverpool had to park the idea of using him this half-season. The solution was a loan to Levante, a chance to rack up minutes in La Liga, collect the points needed, and then return to England with the green light to play.

That plan has stalled.

Levante have yet to give Ndukwe the game time Liverpool hoped for. No minutes means no progress towards the work permit. No progress means no return, at least not yet.

And that’s where Chambers comes back into focus.

If Celtic do get their man in January and Ndukwe still hasn’t played enough to secure his permit, Liverpool could suddenly find themselves exposed again at centre-back. The very scenario they tried to avoid all summer would be back on the table.

A decision that shapes the window

Liverpool are expected to be active in the winter market. That much feels inevitable. But the ideal scenario is obvious: replace Chambers internally with Ndukwe rather than diving into another search, another negotiation, another fee.

For that to happen, two things need to align. Ndukwe must start playing at Levante, and the work permit process has to move quickly enough for a January return. Only then can Iraola fold him into his plans and test whether the pre-season promise was a glimpse of Liverpool’s future – or just a tantalising cameo.

Some inside Anfield see Ndukwe as a potential long-term pillar, a defender who could one day sit in the same conversation as Virgil van Dijk in terms of presence and authority. That’s a huge standard to invoke, but his early performances hinted at a ceiling worth waiting for.

The question now is simple and brutal: can Liverpool afford to wait?

If Celtic get their wish and Ndukwe’s situation drags on, Iraola and the recruitment team will be forced into a choice. Trust the pathway they’re trying to rebuild, or dip back into a market that rarely offers bargains in January.