In spite of all of the difficulties that Liverpool have gone through this season, the Reds remain a top club and one that is constantly being linked with players. Sometimes, this is because a different club is actually linked to them, so the selling side mention Liverpool in order to get the bid increased.
Other times, the Reds are mentioned thanks to leaks from the player’s side as they attempt to get the current club to increase the player’s wage. Every now and then, the link will be a real one giving away Liverpool interest. Which one is this?
Who is Joel Ordóñez?
Joel Leandro Ordóñez Guerrero was born in the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil on the 21st of April 2004. He joined the youth side of Deportivo Azogues, from where he caught the eye of Independiente del Valle, moving there in 2015 and remaining in their youth setup until eventually being called up to the first team squad seven years later.
He only played eight league games there prior to signing for Club Brugge’s youth team, Club NXT, in 2022. After making 32 league appearances there, he moved to the Belgian side’s first team a year later.
Having first represented Ecuador with the Under-15s age group, he was captain of the side as they played in the 2019 South American Under-15s Championship. Although he’d been called up to the Ecuador Under-20s in order to take part in the South American Youth Football Championship, he wasn’t released by the club and missed out on the tournament.
@kaspertalksfootball Joel Ordenez looks like an absolute brick wall 🧱🇪🇨 #football #liverpoolfc #lfc #joelordonez #clubbrugge ♬ No Games, Just Grind – Embaçado
That didn’t result in any lack of interest from the national side, however, making his full international debut on the 21st of March 2024 in a 2-0 win over Guatemala.
Why Are Liverpool Being Linked with Him?
It is fair to say that you would have to have been living under a rock to be unaware of the problems that Liverpool have got in central defence this season. In fact, the presence of Andy Robertson and Milos Kerkez means that left-back is arguably the only part of the defensive line that the Reds aren’t having any issues with. Whilst Virgil van Dijk has had a generally solid season, Ibrahima Konaté was playing so badly earlier in the campaign that numerous supporters said that they would drive him to Real Madrid themselves at the time.
🚨Club Brugge defender Joel Ordonez is close to becoming a Liverpool player this month after negotiations intensified.
The fee is expected to be around £35m.
[@bolavipcom]
— Anfield Index (@anfieldindex.com) 1 January 2026 at 14:56
The injury to Giovanni Leoni in the League Cup tie against Southampton meant that he was ruled out for the best part of the remainder of the season, leaving only Joe Gomez as actual cover for the centre-back positions. The result is that there is barely a defender playing in the middle of the park that the Reds haven’t been linked to at this point, with Ordóñez therefore joining a long line. There is definitely a gap to be plugged, to say nothing of the long-term future of van Dijk being such that he will also need replacing at some point.
A Need to Bolster Defensive Options
As the summer transfer window drew to a close, reports emerged that the Reds had all but reached an agreement to sign Marc Guehí from Crystal Palace. This was not what some Liverpool fans wanted to hear, given the defender’s seemingly homophobic move in defacing the rainbow armband when asked to wear one as the London club’s captain, so there were more than a few sighs of relief as the window closed and Guehí remained at Selhurst Park and then went to Man City in the January window. Although the joy was there at not signing that specific player, the need to get a central defender was clear.
Whether Ordóñez is good enough to make an immediate impact at Anfield is something that obviously remains to be seen, but his is a name that has seemingly been on Liverpool’s radar for some time. The fact that he has established himself in Belgian football playing for Club Brugge is seen as good news, whilst there is also the fact that he can play right-back that is likely to appeal. The loss to Conor Bradley to an injury that will keep him out for the rest of the season means that the Reds only really have one fit right-back.
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A big part of the problem is that that player is Jeremie Frimpong, who played as a right wing-back for his former club and has been playing in the final third in the absence of Mo Salah to the Africa Cup of Nations. Although the Premier League title is nothing but a dream now and the club has also exited the League Cup, the FA Cup and Champions League remain live possibilities. It would be negligent of Liverpool not to bolster their defensive lineup, especially if it’s with a player who they would like in the long term.
