Liverpool have clear transfer issue that will influence January window signing

Liverpool are not expected to have any major incomings this month and there’s a reason for such a belief

The January window may be open, but there’s one change that won’t be happening this month. For many football supporters, the transfer market still possesses the answer to many of their club’s ills.

And a faction of the Liverpool fanbase are no different as Arne Slot’s squad contend with the double injury blow suffered during the past few weeks.

First came the sight of Alexander Isak being helped from the field after sustaining an injury when opening the scoring in the 2-1 Premier League victory at Tottenham Hotspur shortly before Christmas, the striker eventually having surgery on an ankle injury that included a fibula fracture.

OPINION

John Aldridge

READ MORE: Jeremie Frimpong explains Liverpool ‘relief’ and reveals Arsenal reaction – ‘Got a bit of stick’

Then, when the Reds returned to North London less than three weeks later, Conor Bradley left on a stretcher after sustaining a significant knee injury with damage to the ligament and bone that means he won’t play again for Liverpool this season.

There’s never a good time for a player to be sidelined for a long period. But for the Reds came the consolation that both major setbacks came during a period when the January transfer window could offer some salvation.

Except, of course, there is little enthusiasm as of yet among owners Fenway Sports Group to again start splashing the cash after sanctioning Liverpool’s record-breaking £450million spending spree last summer.

It’s easy to see why. Isak will be back before the end of the campaign and, with Hugo Ekitike having already arrived for big money in the close season and the likes of Cody Gakpo and Florian Wirtz capable of performing, albeit in contrasting fashion, at number nine, there is little call for a new striker.

Liverpool, don’t forget, have thus far chosen not to bolster their centre-back options this month despite their deal for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi falling through only at the last minute in September and then seeing teenager summer signing Giovanni Leoni ruled out for the season a few weeks later.

In the specific case of Guehi, the Reds are planning on persuading the player to finally move to Anfield when he becomes a free agent in the summer. There’s no suggestion Liverpool are looking anywhere else to strengthen the position in the current window, nor, as it stands, planning on bringing in Guehi in the next three weeks despite reported interest from Manchester City and Arsenal.

And with Jeremie Frimpong now coming into form and Mohamed Salah back from the Africa Cup of Nations next week, Liverpool believe there are sufficient options on the right flank until Bradley returns next season.

The Liverpool recruitment team, presently helmed by sporting director Richard Hughes, have a baked-in policy of not overly deviating from long-term transfer planning unless an opportunist deal to bring in a target presents itself, such as with Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo, who were both snapped up in the January window.

Short-term solutions are against their nature. And experience suggests the Reds aren’t particularly successful when pursuing such deals.

Witness the mid-season window in 2021 when, with Liverpool having all three senior centre-backs ruled out for the campaign, they brought in Ozan Kabak on loan and Ben Davies on a permanent deal. Davies never kicked a ball for Liverpool and Kabak made only 13 appearances as the Reds ended the season with Academy duo Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams at the heart of defence.

Then in September 2022 injuries in midfield prompted a loan move for Arthur Melo from Juventus. He played just 13 minutes in one appearance in the Champions League at Napoli before picking up an injury that ruled him out for the campaign.

While Liverpool under FSG have been held up as the example of a sustainable transfer model by many clubs, their weak point has clearly been when being compelled to work and react outside their usual parameters. It’s why any Reds incoming this month will be one the recruitment team have long had their sights on.