At Anfield, is Willian Pacho Virgil van Dijk’s long-term replacement? Why Liverpool is reportedly interested in the Ecuadorian defender at Eintracht Frankfurt

Could Willian Pacho be Virgil van Dijk’s long-term successor at Anfield? Why Liverpool are linked with Eintracht Frankfurt’s Ecuadorian defender

The ball-winning machine only moved to Deutsche Bank Park last year, but there is mounting talk of a summer switch to Anfield

We’ve known since last summer that Liverpool are on the look-out for a left-side centre-back. Consequently, a whole host of players have been linked with a move to Anfield over the past year. Goncalo Inacio, Piero Hincapie, Jarrad Branthwaite, Marc Guehi, Levi Colwill and Lloyd Kelly have all been touted as possible solutions to one of the Reds’ problem positions. But one name has gained some serious traction in recent weeks, that of Willian Pacho.

The Ecuadorian only joined Eintracht Frankfurt last summer, but the word is that Pacho is held in very high esteem at Liverpool, resulting in increasing talk of an imminent move for the 22-year-old.

But who is Pacho and why has he reportedly jumped to the top of the list of left-sided centre-back transfer targets? GOAL breaks it all down below…

Where it all began

Pacho was born and raised in Quininde, a town in the northern Esmeraldas province of Ecuador, but it was in the capital city of Quito that he began to make a name for himself.

Pacho made his professional debut with Independiente del Valle, where, coincidentally, Hincapie also starred as a youngster. He was part of an exciting young side that claimed the club’s first-ever Ecuadorian Serie A title in 2021, with Pacho playing every minute of the regular season campaign, only to miss the championship-deciding play-off with Emelec through injury.