On the surface, it seems strange that Liverpool does not look set to strengthen in the January transfer window. Having put itself in a position to challenge on four fronts, Jürgen Klopp looks set to forego the chance to bolster the squad, despite injuries already taking something of a toll.
Admittedly, it’s been a quiet month so far more or less throughout the Premier League. But while plenty of others are restricted by Profit and Sustainability rules, Liverpool has ample headroom on that front — even more reason to wonder why it is not pressing home the advantage it has earned.
Of course, there’s still time for Liverpool to make a move. While the Cody Gakpo deal was sewn up in late December last year, the season before that saw Luis Díaz arrive on deadline day, with FSG prompted into action by Spurs’ attempts to sign him.
But barring any late drama like that, we may well not see any incoming transfer business. Yet there’s no need to cast around for an explanation: Klopp has already given one.
“Everyone talks about us needing another player but they all cost money and they must be the right player,” said Klopp in the aftermath of Joël Matip’s season-ending injury, via GOAL. “You tell me a club who wants to sell a top, top, top center-half. Not a center-half but a top center-half because they have to play for Liverpool. So why should we start that process?”
Quite simply, Klopp does not believe there is anyone available in the transfer market who could improve his squad right now. Presumably that applies not only in defense but also in defensive midfield, where Liverpool infamously tried to sign Moisés Caicedo last summer.
Klopp has since spoken of his relief at how that saga played out, with Liverpool having saved huge sums of money. Left-field alternative Wataru Endō has been brilliant in recent weeks, while Caicedo’s former team-mate Alexis Mac Allister has brought something unique to the base of the midfield as well.
But the very fact Liverpool was prepared to make that play for Caicedo means I believe Klopp when he says there’s simply nobody on the market who fits his criteria. If someone had been identified, we’ve seen enough from FSG to believe they would have the ambition to put in a bid.
It’s not as simple as the Caicedo money sitting in a transfer ‘war chest’ somewhere, ready to be unlocked again at any time. You can’t subtract the Endō fee from the record bid and then deduce Liverpool’s budget — ultimately, FSG might simply celebrate a lucky escape and be grateful for its major saving. But that was proof that when there is agreement from all layers of the recruitment system, the owners will pull the trigger.
From the outside looking in, I of course wonder why the club can’t make such a move in January. Summer targets have presumably already made it to a shortlist, and a big enough bid could surely bring one of those plans forward, addressing a problem position and bolstering the title charge in the process. That would be worth a bit of an overpayment.
But Liverpool’s transfer mechanisms have earned a huge amount of trust over the years. The personnel has changed in the last couple of seasons, leaving a lingering question mark, but ultimately if Klopp sees no clear improvements out there, I’m inclined to listen to him.
Not everyone will be prepared to allow him such license, and questions will be asked if Liverpool does falter in its multi-faceted bid for silverware. But like it or not, Klopp has already made the reason for a lack of transfer activity clear: that should be judged on its merits, with no need to look for conspiracies.
