Zeno Debast is a 21-year-old Belgian international currently playing for Sporting Lisbon in the Primeira Liga. He only joined Sporting last summer from Anderlecht for about £18 million. He is right-footed but can, and has, played on both the right and left side of defence, both for club and country.

At just 21 years old, Debast fits the age profile that Liverpool will be targeting in this position. Debast received his first cap for Belgium at just 19 years old and was part of their 2022 World Cup squad. Although he did not feature, he now starts regularly for Belgium. Standing at 6’3", Debast is physically imposing for his age.

As we can see from his radar chart, Debast is one of the best ball-playing centre-backs in Europe for his age group. I must qualify this section by stating that this chart compares Debast to players outside of Europe’s top five leagues; however, his profile is nonetheless intriguing.

Debast is one of the best progressive passers in world football, with an average of 8 progressive passes per 90 minutes. This ranks him in the top 1% of all centre-backs. In fact, Debast is the best U23 centre-back in Europe for passes into the final third. He is also in the top 6% for passes attempted per 90, with a pass completion percentage in the 80th percentile. He gets on the ball often, ranking in the top 10% in terms of progressive passes received, touches, progressive carries, and successful take-ons.

The radar chart won’t show this, but Debast has an incredible passing range and regularly switches play with staggering accuracy. He most certainly meets the criteria for the ability to “pass between the lines,” as well as possessing a similar passing range to Virgil van Dijk.

Debast also ranks highly for offensive actions, as he’s in the top 2% of centre-backs for expected assists and shot-creating actions. He does not score regularly himself, but his capacity for starting attacks using his progressive passing and range is valuable enough.

Debast’s defensive statistics may cause concern at first glance. His 50% aerial win percentage is not great for a player of his height; however, as he is still only 21 years old, he will have plenty of time to become more dominant in the air. Liverpool’s primary target Dean Huijsen, by comparison, wins 52% of his aerial duels, and so there is not much difference between the two in that regard.

Debast’s other defensive data is also not great; however, it’s important to take into account that Sporting like to keep a lot of possession, and this data set is not adjusted for possession.

Lastly, Debast is one of the most interesting players on this list for one other reason: he’s equally as capable playing in defensive midfield as he is at the heart of defence. In Portugal this season, Debast has played 25 matches at centre-half and 20 matches in midfield. This would make him a very valuable asset in the Liverpool squad.

Bedding in a replacement for Virgil van Dijk would be quite difficult this season, as without a clear path to regular first-team football in defence, how can a young centre-back be expected to hone his craft? In this case, Debast has the ability to gain minutes both as cover in defence or midfield. His performances for Sporting in both positions have been excellent, and there is little doubt that with time, Debast would be more than capable of reproducing this in the Premier League.

He does have a contract until 2029 with an €80 million release clause, but we would expect Sporting to be open to negotiating a fee closer to £45 million. This would make Debast the third-most expensive sale in Sporting’s history, just ahead of Geovany Quenda’s recent transfer agreement to join Chelsea. It would also allow Sporting a way to keep their current pairing in defence of Gonçalo Inácio and Ousmane Diomande.