Transfer journalist, Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Liverpool are set for a ‘quiet’ January transfer window, with the Reds ‘not desperate’ to make new signings mid-season.
With half of the month now gone, the only additions to Jurgen Klopp’s squad have been players recalled from loan, despite ongoing rumours surrounding numerous players such as Jeremie Frimpong, Michael Olise and Joshua Kimmich.
Speaking on The Debrief, the Italian outlined that Anfield executives are ‘looking at the market’ but are more likely to look towards the summer for incoming transfer activity rather than trying to rush through deals in January.
His words: “It’s mostly looking quiet for Liverpool at the moment this January. The only thing I heard in the last few weeks was that they were looking at some opportunities at centre-back. Maybe if there are some players available on that position, but they are not desperate to make a signing.
“They are looking at the market, but there is no hurry because I think Liverpool are very happy with their current squad. They usually prefer to focus on the summer transfer window, and I think that will be the same again here, it looks like this will continue to be their strategy.”
Romano’s assertion backs up a claim by The Athletic’s James Pearce last week that Jurgen Klopp seems happy with the current squad, so it comes as no great surprise to hear that the likelihood of January additions has been played down.
Amid the Premier League’s clampdown on Everton and Nottingham Forest for breaching profitability and sustainability rules, and with Liverpool spending £95.8m more than they recouped from transfers last summer (Transfermarkt), it’s understandable why Anfield chiefs don’t want to push the boat out too much this month.
The Reds have negotiated injuries to numerous players to still sit top of the table beyond the midway point of the season, so theoretically they should be even stronger once a few of those return.
However, we’ve seen before how a spate of absences (especially in defence, where numbers are thin again) can derail our campaign, so LFC risk playing with fire if they steadfastly refuse to enter the market this month, especially with Manchester City now having Kevin De Bruyne back.
The message to Liverpool fans seems to be ‘don’t hold your breath’ as regards new signings, but we can never say never when it comes to the January transfer window – just look at how quickly the deals for Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo were sealed over the past couple of years.
