Tick, tock. So continues the countdown to the end of a transfer window that has already seen significant changes in the Liverpool squad.
Out have gone a clutch of long-time servants, with club captain Jordan Henderson and Fabinho following free agents James Milner, Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain through the exit door, while loanee Arthur Melo was sent back to Juventus.
Liverpool initially moved swiftly to overhaul their midfield with £35million Argentine World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister and £60m Hungary international skipper Dominik Szoboszlai both recruited before the start of pre-season.
While Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has indicated that doesn’t mean there remains almost £95m in the coffers following the failed £111m bid for Caicedo, there’s no doubt sizeable funds remain for transfers. And with the deadline at 11pm a week on Friday, the Reds may not have been done with their business
“When there are the right players we will have a look,” said the Reds boss on Friday. “We are definitely still in the market watching and seeing what is going on and what we can do. We try to strengthen the squad, definitely, and that’s it.”
Another midfielder, while not definite, is a possibility, whether that is a number six or an all-round engine-room operator. Liverpool remain huge admirers of Ryan Gravenberch of Bayern Munich, with the 21-year-old having grown frustrated after starting only six games since moving to the Bundesliga last summer
Crystal Palace’s Mali international Cheick Doucoure is another to have been monitored, although the Reds have thus far shown no inclination to make concrete any interest. Liverpool have also been keeping tabs on Brazil international Andre but the 23-year-old is almost certain to stay at Fluminense as long as they remain in the Copa Libertadores, the next round of which is completed on deadline day.
Klopp admitted back in May that Liverpool were assessing the possibility of signing a centre-back this summer, and that may now become the priority. While not a pressing concern, the reality is both Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip are now in their 30s – the latter in the final year of his current deal – and Joe Gomez has struggled for consistent form.
