Liverpool Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Jose Fonte and Mamadou Sakho

Liverpool and Southampton may be poised to conduct business in January following reports Saints captain Jose Fonte could head to Anfield, while the south coast club is said to be eyeing Mamadou Sakho as a Virgil van Dijk replacement.

According to Steve Stammers and Tom Hopkinson of the Mirror, Reds manager Jurgen Klopp is chasing a January move for Fonte and could utilise outcast Sakho as a makeweight in the transfer.

Fonte is already understood to be seeking a departure and has handed in a transfer request at St Mary's Stadium, while Liverpool have a strong record of snapping up Southampton talents for their own gain in recent years.

The Portugal international won UEFA Euro 2016 last summer but has fallen out of Saints manager Claude Puel's plans since handing in a transfer request in early January. Fonte missed Saturday's trip to Burnley, and Puel informed the media of his reasoning behind the decision before that game:

"

The situation for Jose is the same for the moment.

I don't comment of course on the situation of different possibilities with different clubs, but for the moment we stay with the same consideration about the situation.

I prefer for the moment staying [with] Jose out of the team, to leave him the opportunity to study different solutions for him and for us to stay focused about all the players who are available to start in the team.

"

A raft of Southampton alumni have made the move from St Mary's to Merseyside in recent years, including Adam Lallana, Nathaniel Clyne, Sadio Mane and Dejan Lovren—all of whom remain at Anfield and are valued Liverpool players.

ESPN's Richard Jolly commented on Fonte not being the only Euro 2016 star to be experiencing troubles at club level this season, with West Ham United's Dimitri Payet also in a dispute with his employers:

Southampton are helped by the fact Van Dijk reportedly "will not press to leave" the club during the winter transfer window, meaning Fonte may be the only centre-back they're forced to replace.

Sky Sports News HQ reporter Kaveh Solhekol recently reported Southampton aren't the only team showing interest in outcast Sakho, who has failed to feature under Klopp this season and is said to be "disgusted" with his treatment:

It seems unlikely Southampton will pay £20 million for Sakho if Solhekol's report proves true, meaning Fonte could be key to the south coast outfit affording Liverpool's misfit as part of the deal.

This Is Anfield's Jack Lusby recently suggested Sakho still holds value despite his fall from grace, looking back to better times the Frenchman enjoyed at the club:

Liverpool are understood to be one of the teams interested in Van Dijk, but Fonte—who has just 18 months remaining on his Southampton contract—looks the far more likely departure if Saints are to lose a defender in January.

Klopp appears to have no use for Sakho, meaning a January exit could be an easy method to create some funds at Anfield, although Fonte, 33, may prove a difficult replacement to capture.