The ideal signings Liverpool could have made in the January transfer window - including an £87m wingerplaceholder image
The ideal signings Liverpool could have made in the January transfer window - including an £87m winger | Getty Images
Liverpool chose not to sign any new players in January - we look at the transfer that could have taken place.
Despite spending some extraordinary amounts of money over the summer, Liverpool’s title defence most certainly hasn’t gone according to plan. There have been injuries and the implosion of several key players’ form, and it was something of a surprise that the club didn’t do more to add to the squad over the winter.
Liverpool were believed to have a sufficiently strong PSR position to make some significant moves, but by the end of deadline day the only transfer which had been confirmed was a move for Stade Rennais defender Jérémy Jacquet, who will move to Anfield in the summer. Could the Reds have done more to ensure that Arne Slot’s side will make the Champions League places for next season? We decided to look at the deals Liverpool could have gotten over the line – and the impact they could have had.
Sunderland & Bayern Munich stars among defenders Liverpool missed out on in January
Perhaps the single biggest concern heading into the January transfer window was the defence, which has been ravaged by injuries. Even ignoring fitness concerns, the form of starters such as Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté and Milos Kerkez has largely fallen short of the standards those players set in the past.
Given the situation, it’s surprising that Liverpool declined to enter the bidding for Marc Guéhi, who they so nearly signed at the end of the summer transfer window. In the end, Liverpool decided that a mid-season package was outside of their transfer budget despite the fact that the fee Manchester City ended up paying – around £20m – seem rather budget-friendly in the context of the quality of the player.
Having missed out on Guéhi, there were also whispers that Liverpool could make a similar move for Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano, who was stalling on signing a new contract in Bavaria. In the end, presumably for reasons similar to those which led them to pass up on Guéhi, they declined to make a bid.
They did attempt to get their hands on Sunderland right-back Lutsharel Geertruida, but a deal – which would have involved negotiating with both the Black Cats and his parent club RB Leizpig – proved to be too complicated. With that transfer failing to launch, Liverpool now head into the second half of the season with a threadbare defence containing few players who are on their best form.
Further upfield, there have been signs of life from some of the more attack-minded players who struggled in the early months of the campaign – not least Florian Wirtz, who was nominated for the January Player of the Month award – so if Liverpool do miss out on the Champions League places or any silverware, it may be that the failure to address defensive concerns was the biggest culprit.
Attackers and midfielders that were on Liverpool’s radar this winter
While additions to the more attacking half of the side weren’t necessarily an urgent priority, Liverpool were linked with several, partly due to uncertainty over the future of Mohamed Salah and partly because their midfield is another part of the team which has been struggling for form – and there was speculation that Curtis Jones could leave, too, although that didn’t happen in the end.
Liverpool were one of several sides tentatively linked with a move for AZ Alkmaar starlet Kees Smit, a Dutch box-to-box midfielder who seems to have a stellar future ahead of him – but AZ made it clear that they did not intend to sell their star player in the middle of the season, and it appears that no formal offers were lodged. A summer move remains a possibility.
The Reds were also one of a number of teams linked with Leipzig winger Yan Diomande, who has enjoyed a spectacular start to his career in Germany and attracted admiring glances from any number of elite sides – with Liverpool perhaps the team mentioned the most when the 19-year-old Ivorian’s named appeared in the gossip columns.
Diomande has only been with his current club for six months and the price tag supposedly slapped on him for a winter move was a towering €100m (£87m). Liverpool seem to have been put off, but again it would scarcely be a shock if they made a more reasonable offer come the summer. He could certainly be one of the players signed to help ease the loss of Salah if the Egyptian does depart.
Another, less starry name who was strongly linked with a switch to Anfield was Tromsø midfielder Jens Hjertø-Dahl, a 20-year-old Norway Under-21 international who has apparently been tracked by Liverpool for over a year. Rangers and Everton were also alleged to be interested, but the youngster remains in his home country for now. He would have been one for the future rather than a player who was expected to contribute much in the 2025/26 season, in any case.
In the end, Liverpool discovered that they would have to break the bank to secure their main transfer targets in January and opted not to do so. Whether that proves to be the right decision will depend on whether existing starters can get back to their best as the home straight nears…
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