Best and Worst Moves Liverpool Could Make in the January Transfer Window
Liverpool will play in plenty of games before the end of the year, but that won't stop supporters thinking ahead to potential transfers. That's right: Winter is coming. The winter transfer window, of course.
Just like the January sales for shoppers, football clubs should proceed with caution. Get carried away, and you make a rash purchase that serves little purpose and ends up being flogged at a loss down the line.
However, there are good deals to be had during the midseason transfer window.
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The Reds signed a certain Luis Suarez in January 2011. Two years later, they fleeced Inter Milan to get Philippe Coutinho for the ridiculously low fee of £8.5 million. Back in 2006, meanwhile, Robbie Fowler, AKA God, enjoyed a second coming at Anfield, giving him the opportunity to say a proper farewell.
So what might Reds boss Jurgen Klopp have up his sleeve for January?
Bleacher Report has selected four of the best and four of the worst moves Liverpool's manager could make in the transfer market.
We've attempted to be realistic with our choices. Yes, it would be wonderful if Liverpool suddenly paid the £626 million buyout clause written into Lionel Messi's new contract, but that just isn't happening.
Best Moves
1. Sign Virgil van Dijk
Well, duh! Of course Liverpool should sign Virgil van Dijk, the centre-back they chased a little too aggressively in the most recent transfer window.
The Dutchman did his best to force his way out of Southampton, who reported the Reds for tapping up their prized asset. Liverpool have cherry-picked the best talent from Saints in recent years, having signed Nathaniel Clyne, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Sadio Mane, but that wasn't the case in the summer.
After a period on the naughty step/training with the youth team, Van Dijk is back in Southampton's first team.
While the waters are calm, the forecast suggests they may get choppy again. Mauricio Pellegrino, Van Dijk's boss at Southampton, admitted ahead of the Premier League fixture between the two teams at Anfield on November 18 that "everybody has got a price," per Glenn Price of ESPN FC.
In hindsight, a summer deal would have been best for all parties. Saints should have played hardball and milked all the money they could out of Liverpool and then sold Van Dijk and spent some of their profit. According to BBC Sport, the defender cost them £13 million from Celtic in September 2015.
As for Liverpool, defensive deficiencies remain a problem, with sloppy goals conceded undermining their attacking abilities. It's asking a lot of one man to request he fixes such a longstanding issue, yet he would at least be an immediate upgrade over the Reds' incumbent centre-backs.
While costly, it's surely worth stumping up the cash to finally get Klopp's chosen one for the back four. Do it in January, and the addition of Van Dijk could make a huge difference to how the season pans out.
2. Get Naby Keita Over Early
As was the case with Van Dijk, Liverpool failed to bring in Naby Keita during the latest transfer window. However, they did strike a deal to make sure the midfielder will join next summer instead.
According to RB Leipzig CEO Oliver Mintzlaff, the English club held off competition from Barcelona to secure the player. "Naby was very much enthralled by Liverpool and especially by Jurgen Klopp," he told German publication Sport Bild (h/t Sky Sports).
After an outstanding first season in the Bundesliga, Keita has endured some ups and downs in the 2017/18 campaign, most notably picking up two red cards for his club and another for his country.
Klopp won't be too concerned by those dismissals, and Keita demonstrated his talent with an excellent goal in his side's 2-0 win over Werder Bremen on Saturday:
"Absolutely cannot wait for Naby Keita to sign
— AnfieldNation (@AnfieldNation) November 25, 2017"
pic.twitter.com/GLhLXtwNM7
Liverpool have signed a talented 22-year-old with the idea of making him a key cog in Liverpool's engine room for many years to come. However, wouldn't it be wonderful if they could make the move happen ahead of schedule?
For that to occur, they would likely have to fork out a further payment on top of the club-record fee they have already agreed upon with Leipzig.
An early release seems highly unlikely, but this is a feature based on best-case scenarios. Without a doubt, Liverpool's lineup would be better for having Keita in it from January onward.
3. Send Youngsters Out on Loan
While Klopp is an advocate of giving youth a chance—as demonstrated by Trent Alexander-Arnold's meteoric rise over the past 12 months—not all of Liverpool's bright young things can fit into the first-team squad.
Zoran Stojadinovic, Marko Grujic's agent, revealed to Serbian newspaper Blic he hopes the 21-year-old midfielder will be allowed out on loan during the next transfer window (h/t Lyall Thomas of Sky Sports).
Danny Ward is another candidate to leave on a temporary basis.
After a year with Huddersfield Town that finished with a Championship play-off final victory at Wembley Stadium, the goalkeeper has only featured once for the Reds this season. The club's early exit from the Carabao Cup has left him stuck as third in line behind Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius.
According to Phil Smith of the Shields Gazette, the Welshman is wanted by former international manager Chris Coleman, who is now in charge at Sunderland, along with fellow Liverpool player Ben Woodburn.
While Klopp hasn't given any indication he's keen to push Woodburn's development by letting him go out on loan, Ward is 24 and needs to be playing regularly at this stage of his career.
Ovie Ejaria and Harry Wilson—who might well have gone out on loan in the previous transfer window were it not for an injury in pre-season—may also benefit from having a short spell somewhere else.
So too might Danny Ings considering he's not even getting on Liverpool's bench despite a return to full fitness. While the other names mentioned here could have long-term futures at Anfield, the former Burnley striker is so far down the pecking order he must realise he's surplus to requirements.
4. Show Leon Goretzka the Money
With Emre Can seemingly moving on at the end of the season, Liverpool would be wise to replace the departing German with one of his compatriots.
Much like Can's situation with the Reds, Schalke 04's Goretzka has to make a decision over his future. His contract is coming towards an end, meaning he could leave for nothing in the summer.
Liverpool's name has consistently cropped up as a potential landing spot. It makes sense too; Klopp knows the player well and, at 22, Goretzka fits the bill as a talent with huge potential. The club has previous for raiding Schalke too, having signed centre-back Joel Matip from the Bundesliga outfit for free last year.
Keita's impending arrival will add an extra midfielder to the ranks, but that shouldn't stop Liverpool looking at further reinforcements. There's no place for sentiment when you are striving to get better, and Saturday's draw with Chelsea highlighted the need for greater quality in the middle of the park.
As journalist Raphael Honigstein reported via Twitter in the summer, Goretzka appeared to be heading for Bayern Munich in 2018:
There's yet to be an official announcement, though, so clubs can still queue up to have a crack at signing one of Europe's most promising talents. Liverpool could present a strong case to Goretzka, with the possibility of reuniting with Matip, playing regular minutes and the Klopp factor.
"Leon will make a decision soon without us building any pressure on him," Christian Heidel, Schalke's sporting director, told Sport Bild (h/t Neil Jones of the Liverpool Echo).
Hopefully the Reds respond to the opportunity with an offer Goretzka finds too good to refuse.
Worst Moves
1: Cash In on Emre Can
As the days tick by, Can's departure from Anfield becomes more and more likely. The midfielder's deal expires at the end of the season, and he can soon begin negotiating with other clubs.
Klopp, however, hasn't given up hope of keeping him just yet. Ever the optimist, he still believes his fellow German could be persuaded to sign a long-term contract to remain on Merseyside.
"I said he could still sign a contract in May," Klopp said ahead of Saturday's clash with Chelsea, according to Andy Kelly of the Liverpool Echo. "That's how it is. Persuade him? That's what we try to do all the time.
It's hard to see how Can will be a Liverpool player beyond the campaign, however. Juventus CEO Beppe Marotta has already told the media how his club plans to make a move next summer, while Paul Hetherington of the Daily Star reported Manchester City hold an interest in the 23-year-old.
Rather than let Can's deal run down and risk losing him for nothing, the Reds could cash in after Christmas by selling him to the highest bidder. They would struggle to get close to his true value (considering his age and his status with club and country) but would at least get something back on a depreciating asset.
From a business point of view, that would make sense. Yet Liverpool can ill afford to lose a key member of the squad without having an appropriate replacement ready to immediately fill the void.
If that means the club loses Can for nothing in the summer, so be it. He's too valuable to jettison midway through a campaign, particularly when Liverpool look set to reach the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League and will enter the FA Cup in the new year.
Ideally, Can would play out the remainder of the campaign and then be replaced by fellow German Goretzka.
2: Give In to Philippe Coutinho's Wishes
The Coutinho-to-Barcelona transfer saga dominated the summer transfer window. Despite the best efforts of the player, not to mention the Catalan media stirring the pot, Liverpool stood firm.
They knocked back three bids from the Catalan giants and refused to accept a transfer request from Coutinho, who missed the early weeks of the season with a lingering back injury that coincidentally cleared up once he flew off to play for Brazil at the start of September.
The playmaker has knuckled down on his return to club duty, contributing five goals and four assists in 12 appearances.
Yet Mohamed Salah's startling impact since his arrival from AS Roma in the summer, coupled with Coutinho's attempts to force a move out of Anfield, has taken a little shine off the Little Magician's reputation among the Liverpool support.
"I used to wonder how Liverpool could cope without Coutinho," Ian Ladyman wrote for MailOnline on Sunday. "He is a wonderful player. But with Mane and Salah providing directness, and players like Roberto Firmino and Adam Lallana to add cleverness and imagination, it is now time to move on."
Ladyman believes if "real money" is offered next summer, Liverpool should sell the 25-year-old and focus on using the windfall to bolster other areas of the team.
Per Joaquim Piera of Catalan newspaper Sport, Barcelona will be back in January with a €120 million (£107 million) offer. They may face competition for the player, though, as Le 10 Sport reported Paris Saint-Germain are interested as well (h/t Thomas Bristow of the Mirror).
While a bidding war might drive up the price, Liverpool shouldn't contemplate selling the Brazilian at the start of 2018. Coutinho's departure feels inevitable in the long run, yet the upheaval of losing him in January could have severe consequences for the remainder of the season.
Sit tight, Phil. Wait for the summer.
3: Bring In Julian Draxler on Loan
With the deepest of pockets, Paris Saint-Germain can acquire the world's best talent. What they cannot afford, however, is to fall foul of UEFA's financial fair play rules.
The backlash to signing Neymar for a little under £200 million? A need to balance the books. With Europe's governing body ready to come down on them, the big-spending French outfit may have to offload someone to save themselves.
Draxler appears the most likely candidate to be thrown overboard to prevent the good ship PSG from sinking.
Despite only joining in January 2017, the Germany international could be the fall guy. Per John Richardson of the Mirror, Liverpool and Arsenal will "battle" to sign Draxler, whether that be on a permanent deal or a loan for the reason of the season.
While undoubtedly a high-profile addition, his signing would also be a tad unnecessary. Yes, Liverpool need to keep upgrading all areas of their squad, but the creativity department doesn't have an opening.
Klopp is still bedding in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, a £35 million recruit before the most recent deadline day. When they only recently signed a playmaker capable of occupying a spot either out wide or in central midfield, the last thing they need is another playmaker capable of occupying a spot either out wide or in central midfield.
If Draxler sticks around in the French capital until the summer, though, Liverpool may view him as the ideal replacement for Coutinho should he leave—possibly in the opposite direction.
4: Resist a Big-Money Offer for Daniel Sturridge
Is Daniel Sturridge's Liverpool career coming to an end? It feels like this question has cropped up in the past two transfer windows as well, yet he has stuck around on Merseyside.
Now, though his bit-part role with the Reds is having a knock-on effect elsewhere. The square peg who occasionally slots into the Roberto Firmino-shaped hole up top, Gareth Southgate left Sturridge out of his squad for England's recent friendly fixtures against Germany and Brazil.
With the FIFA World Cup to come in 2018, the striker may feel a move is the only way to boost his international ambitions and book a seat on the plane to Russia. Southgate's squad selections have made it clear he will only entertain players who feature regularly for their clubs.
The Mirror reported interest from AC Milan, with Calciomercato.com saying the Italians have tried to get Sturridge in the past.
You would expect interest from a few English clubs as well, albeit the player might have to take a step back to move forward again, as Daniel Storey pointed out for Football365:
"Until now in his career, there has been no demotion. From Coventry City to Manchester City at the age of 14. From Manchester City to Chelsea at the age of 19 for a fee that would eventually rise to £8.3 million. From the fringes of Chelsea's squad to first-team fixture at Liverpool. If Sturridge now leaves Liverpool, it will force an acceptance that his trajectory is now downward. What does that do to confidence?"
Klopp ideally wants Sturridge in his squad. He said as much in his press conference before the Chelsea game, per the Liverpool Echo's James Pearce:
The frontman duly started against his old club on Saturday. He flitted in and out of the game, went missing for large chunks and had one opportunity to score before being replaced after 66 minutes. No one was surprised, both at his performance and the timing of the substitution.
He's stuck around longer than many expected. But the time feels right to end his association with the Reds—but only if a buyer is willing to pay for the privilege of acquiring one of English football's most natural finishers.
This isn't about getting rid of a bad egg or an unwanted individual left behind by a previous regime; it's more a business decision that also makes football sense.
Liverpool, who have Dominic Solanke waiting in the wings, should listen to offers for Sturridge, who looks a shadow of the player who made such a huge impact during his first 18 months at the club.
Rob Lancaster is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report who covers Liverpool. You can follow him on Twitter at RobLancs79.
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