If Liverpool didn't have an injury crisis at center back before, it certainly does now. After losing Virgil van Dijk to a knee injury in the Merseyside derby last month, Joe Gomez is now expected to miss most of the season after injuring his knee during England training on Wednesday.
Making the list of the top 10 best soccer defenders at this very moment in time proved to be somewhat difficult, partly because of our worldwide pandemic and because defenders hardly get any love. And as a defender myself, I can confirm that.
Children between the ages of six and 11 have been banned from heading during practice by the English, Scottish and Irish FAs. The heading ban was announced on Monday following a landmark study into the correlation between footballers and brain disease.
Weston McKennie can kind of do it all. He’s lined up at just about every position for Schalke, from center back to forward, but he’s best deployed as a box-to-box midfielder given his mobility and awareness.
He’s also a really good header of the ball.
While most players use their leaping and heading abilities to score (Cristiano Ronaldo) or defend (Virgil van Dijk), McKennie takes another approach. He’s becoming adept at earning assists with his noggin.