The January transfer window is now officially open and Liverpool are expecting to do business over the next month
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot(Image: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
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And we're off. While the general public were celebrating the start of a New Year, for a growing number of transfer addicts came the more seismic opening of the January window.
Liverpool have shown themselves dab hands at operating in what is traditionally the more testing period to sign players, with the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge, Luis Diaz, current captain Virgil van Dijk and forward Cody Gakpo all brought to Anfield midway through the season under Fenway Sports Group.
Having splashed out almost £450million on new signings and seen close to £225m worth of talent depart during the summer, the business from the Reds will understandably be nowhere near as extensive. But there will be some movement before the transfer window slams shut on Monday, February 2 at 7pm.
On the way out
Liverpool are expected to confirm one departure early in the window with James Norris in talks over a permanent move to Shelbourne.
The 22-year-old left-back spent most of 2025 on loan at the League of Ireland side, where he made 45 appearances. The deal could go through as early as Thursday.
James McConnell was recalled from his season-long loan at Ajax earlier this week as he continues to recover from an injury that has ruled him out for the last month. The 21-year-old midfielder is expected to attract interest from a number of Championship clubs later in the window regards another temporary move.
Liverpool recalled a number of players on loan last January in order to move them on elsewhere, and will be assessing the fortunes of Lewis Koumas and James Balagizi in particular after a lack of starts at Championship side Birmingham City and National League outfit Forest Green Rovers respectively.
A number of Academy and fringe players will be considered for loan moves such as Trent Kone-Doherty, Rhys Williams, Kieran Morrison and Calvin Ramsay, although injuries to first-team squad members make it unlikely teenagers Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha will be released.
Juventus are considering a loan offer for Federico Chiesa but Liverpool will be wary of leaving themselves short of attacking options with the Italian having made 18 appearances this season.
And while Mohamed Salah's future was called into question following his outburst at Leeds United last month, there is little chance of Liverpool contemplating a transfer before the summer.
Anyone coming in?
Liverpool had been monitoring the situation of Antoine Semenyo until it became clear the Bournemouth winger wanted a move to Manchester City, with a deal of around £65million expected to go through in the coming days.
The Reds were close to signing Marc Guehi for £35m on deadline day in September only for Crystal Palace to pull the plug on the move at the last minute.
Liverpool remain interested but will face strong competition for Guehi's signature once he becomes a free agent in the summer, given it is almost certain Palace will keep hold of the centre-back this month and accept the financial hit of losing the England international for nothing at the end of the season.
Harvey Elliott is unlikely to return this month from his loan spell at Aston Villa with the Midlanders needing to initiate contact with Liverpool to begin the process and Slot having refused to be drawn on such speculation.
Villa are reluctant to give Elliott the five appearances required to reach the 10 that will trigger the £35m agreement in place between the clubs to make the move permanent. Having already played for the Reds this season, FIFA rules stipulate he cannot play for three clubs in the same season, meaning the only alternative would be to go on loan at a club where they have summer seasons such as MLS in the United States.
Despite Giovanni Leoni being out for the season and doubts over Joe Gomez's long-term fitness, Reds boss Arne Slot recently played down talk of signing a centre-back in January.
Indeed, it seems unlikely Liverpool will have any significant incomings unless they replicate the opportunist deals that saw the likes of Gakpo and Diaz recruited earlier than initially planned.