Rafa Benitez has today boosted his defensive options for next season by confirming the signing of Swiss right-back Philipp Degen from Borussia Dortmund on a free.
“He is an offensive player with great energy and a winning mentality”, remarked Rafa. “His strength is going forward and I am confident he will be prove to be a quality addition to our squad.”
Twenty-five-year-old Degan has 26 Swiss caps to his name and appeared 10 times in a Dortmund shirt last season. He is set to compete directly with both Finnan and Arbeloa for the right-back berth at Anfield.
His arrival will no doubt cause further headaches for fantasy managers when it comes to considering a Liverpool defence that kept 18 clean sheets this term – second only to United and Chelsea. For me, this further competition in the full-back area, combined with the return to fitness of Agger at centre-back, only goes to increase the appeal of Carragher and keeper Reina as the most reliable sources of starts and clean sheets in Rafa’s backline.