The January transfer window is usually a time for teams that have real ambition to make quick fixes to any glaring issues that may impact their chances of achieving those goals. And Liverpool are no strangers to this. Many of their greatest ever signings have come in the January window. Current captain Virgil Van Dijk was signed in the January of 2018; former Liverpool star Luis Suarez was signed in January 2011; Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge joined in January 2013; and wingers Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo were recruited in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
But this year, the Reds have made no notable additions to a squad that is in desperate need of reinforcements. Season ending injuries to Giovanni Leoni, Conor Bradley, and potentially record signing Alexander Isak have left an initially deep Liverpool squad very light. Shorter term injuries to Jeremie Frimpong, Joe Gomez, and a brief spells out for Hugo Ekitike and Federico Chiesa, have been crippling in the midst of those longer term injuries.
It has meant that Arne Slot has had to field teams with players out of position or with different characteristics from those we are most familiar with. Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo have featured at centre-back in the absence of Gomez, Leoni, and Ibrahima Konate, who was away on compassionate leave. In fact, for Liverpool’s primetime game against Newcastle last weekend, Konate actually cut his compassionate leave short because he felt that ‘his team needed him’ after all the players to hit the medical table. It led to one of the most wholesome moments of the season, as Konate scored in the 93rd minute – a moment that truly honoured his late father.
With all these moving parts and unavailability, you would think that Liverpool would be desperate to bolster their squad – but that doesn’t seem to be the case at all. They almost secured the signing of right-back Lutsharel Geertruida from RB Leipzig, but due to complications related to his current loan spell at Sunderland, the deal was considered ‘too complicated’ to pull off.
There were also rumblings about a deal for right-back Denzel Dumfries from Inter Milan. A deal that allegedly would have seen local boy Curtis Jones go the other way. However, those talks seemed to have been put to bed, and reinforcements don’t seem to be on their way in before today’s 7pm UK deadline.
In fact, Liverpool have just completed a pre-agreement to sign promising French defender Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes for the summer. This would indicate that the club are already looking past this season in terms of squad building, and they don’t see there being any deals worth doing in this window. While Jacquet looks to be a fantastic pick up, given he is only 20 years old, was highly sought after by clubs like Chelsea, and also fits the age profile of the other new signings at the club; there are still some real questions lingering with regards to this campaign.
Liverpool sit 6th in the Premier League, and given the likelyhood that 5th place will be a Champions League place in the Premier League again (as a result of UEFA’s club coefficient rankings), the Reds are one point behind Chelsea who occupy that 5th and final Champions League spot. And when you consider that Manchester United (who are 4th) are in fantastic form under interim manager Michael Carrick, and the seemingly increasing number of injuries to Liverpool’s squad, it isn’t a certainty that the defending league champions will find themselves in the Champions League next season.
It would not have been surprising to see them sign multiple players given the state of their squad and their season, but that has not been the case. Either the board and manager have full faith in those who have been fortunate enough to not catch the injury bug, or they have financial reservations following their monster £446m spending spree last summer, or maybe they’re simply giving up on this season and just looking towards the next campaign.
Given the financial and reputational implications of missing out of Champions League football, they surely cannot be writing this season off, but their lack of activity is definitely baffling.
[featured image from Liverpool FC]
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