Hugo Ekitike has namechecked long-time Liverpool target Marc Guehi in an unexpected Instagram comment.
Liverpool secured their place in the Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday as goals from Alexis Mac Allister (2), Florian Wirtz, Mohamed Salah, Hugo Ekitike and Federico Chiesa sealed a 6-0 win over Qarabag.
Given their defensive woes of late, it was a convincing performance from a side that were forced to play without Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez.
Ryan Gravenberch, who has played in the heart of Liverpool's midfield for much of the campaign, was asked to fill in at centre-back after Arne Slot decided against deploying Wataru Endo alongside Virgil van Dijk.
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Speaking in his pre-match interview, Slot explained the decision to use Gravenberch at centre-half.
"There weren't that many options," he said. "As so many times, managers make the decision based on how the other team plays and where they think their strengths and weaknesses are."
Slot added: "The way they usually press would mean our right centre back can be influential in our build-up and defensively it would always be a midfielder in that position."
Gravenberch performed admirably alongside Van Dijk and received a SofaScore rating of 7.4.
Taking to social media after the full-time whistle, the Netherlands international posted a number of pictures from Wednesday's game alongside the caption: "Top 8".
A number of Gravenberch's teammates commented on the Instagram post, including Dominik Szoboszlai, who wrote "My CB", but the response from Hugo Ekitike was by far and away the most popular.
Ekitike wrote “Guehi!!” alongside a laughing emoji, a comment that received more than 20,000 likes at the time of writing.
Seemingly joking that Liverpool had found their own Guehi days before the end of the window, Ekitike's comment is another reminder of his side missing out on the England international last summer.
It was a busy deadline day for those behind the scenes at Liverpool as they wrapped up a British record deal for Alexander Isak.
But they failed in their bid to sign long-term target Marc Guehi, who was on the verge of joining the Premier League champions from Crystal Palace in a deal worth £35 million plus a 10 per cent sell-on clause.
However, Palace pulled the plug on a deal after Oliver Glasner threatened to walk away if Guehi was sold, according to talkSPORT.
It was widely reported at the time that Palace had refused to sanction the transfer as they struggled to find a replacement, with target Igor Julio opting to join West Ham.
Earlier this month, the defender signed for Manchester City in a deal worth around £20 million.
Topics: Liverpool, Hugo Ekitike, Premier League, Champions League
Jack Kenmare