The start of the january transfer window is now less than a fortnight away, but a lot of the talk from a liverpool perspective is about the players the club will not be signing, rather than those who are real targets. Jürgen klopp has already downplayed the likelihood of finding the right player.
For supporters, the number six position is bound to be one of the topics of concern. Following fabinho’s departure in the summer, klopp’s primary option in that role has been alexis mac allister, a player who isn’t a ‘natural-born six’ according to the manager (via this is anfield). However, if fulham is looking to sign joo palhinha next month, it could not be the club, according to journalist david lynch of this is anfield, who said earlier this month that liverpool was not planning to sign palhinha in january, citing him as ‘outside the usual age range of signings’ under fsg, and that fulham is likely to demand a fee in the region of $89 million (£70 million/€81 million).
This was confirmed by sky germany’s florian plettenberg on monday, who said that “liverpool is certainly not in the race” for palhinha this winter as a proven premier league performer who won fulham’s player of the season award last season. Given that he’s 28, it would be a move geared towards the team’s short-term, or at best medium-term, opportunities rather than the type of long-term contract that fsg prefers to get the most out of money. arsenal has shown a greater willingness than klopp and fsg to embrace the ‘win-now’ attitude.
The gunners wanted to sign a 21-year-old moisés caicedo but were refused by brighton (via sky sports), and they also wanted to sign mykhailo mudryk, a 22-year-old player, but shakhtar donetsk was dissatisfied with the structure of his $110 million (£86 million/€100 million) deal, and instead joined chelsea (via the athletic). Arsenal changed direction after failing to meet its primary goals. It also signed deals for 31-year-old jorginho from london rival chelsea (for a fee of $15 million/£12 million/€14 million) and 28-year-old leandro trossard from brighton (for around $36 million/£28 million/€32 million), which were both good alternatives to caicedo and mudryk.
These weren’t players for the future, they were players for the moment, as it turned out. The gunners were in the middle of a premier league title fight with manchester city at the time and were looking for the best short-term effect, hence the pursuits for a european champion (at club and international level) and a belgium star who’d impressed for brighton for a number of years. Although arsenal lost out on the title in the end, it’s still difficult to conclude that either signing was a mistake.
Trossard has been an excellent addition to the attacking lineup, scoring or assisting 19 goals in 42 games, while jorginho has been a versatile squad player, starting 20 games in all competitions over the course of his first year, and it’s unclear if he’ll do the same thing this season as the gunners try to preserve top spot.
On the other hand, although klopp and fsg did find a short-term solution to its holding midfield deficit in wataru end last summer, it seems they may reaffirm their old ways in 2024. Only time will tell if it proves to be a wise call.
