Leonardo Jardim Hints Liverpool Target Thomas Lemar Could Leave in January

Liverpool's hope of signing AS Monaco winger Thomas Lemar may have improved after the French club's manager, Leonardo Jardim, appeared to hint at a greater chance they'll sell players in the January transfer window.

Jardim has previously suggested winter departures for key players were unlikely, but he gave a softer response on the matter on Monday, per French daily L'Equipe (h/t the Liverpool Echo's Ian Doyle): "We are not used to selling in the winter. But the transfer window lasts until the end of the month, and many things can happen."

Lemar was linked to Liverpool and Arsenal in the summer but remained on the French Riviera after former team-mates Kylian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva, Benjamin Mendy and Tiemoue Bakayoko all left for pastures new.

News of Lemar has spiked once more following Philippe Coutinho's £142 million sale to Barcelona, per BBC Sport, and Yahoo's Matt Lewis reported the Reds hold an advantage over their rivals in pursuit of Lemar:

Only last week, Jardim gave a much more conclusive answer when quizzed on the chances of Monaco's big players leaving this month, per Jack Rosser of the Evening Standard: "We are not in the habit of doing major sales of players (in the winter transfer window)." 

Kristian Walsh of the Liverpool Echo also recently reiterated Lemar as a summer target for Liverpool, although the departure of master puppeteer Coutinho may have altered those plans:

It seems little coincidence that on the same weekend Coutinho's departure for the Camp Nou was announced, the Mirror's John Cross reported a January bid for Monaco ace Lemar was expected from the Reds.

Liverpool have already spent a sizeable chunk of any funds by signing Virgil van Dijk from Southampton in a £75 million deal, and the desire to replace Coutinho adequately could also take big investment.

Cross' report mentioned that reports of interest in Leicester City's Riyad Mahrez are wide of the mark, and Fox Sports presenter Daniel Garb described Lemar as the superior option given his positional experience:

Jardim's comments regarding potential winter sales may offer Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp hope regarding his chances of landing France international Lemar, particularly with Monaco out of the UEFA Champions League.

The left-sided specialist appears favourable toward Merseyside as his next destination, but sealing the transfer midway through the season could nevertheless be too complicated a manoeuvre to pull off.