Liverpool have had their fair share of January transfers over the years, some great, some good and some, unfortunately, downright terrible.
Amongst the best of their winter wonder signings are the talismanic Luis Suarez who won the hearts of the Anfield faithful as he scored 82 goals in four seasons for the club; Daniel Sturridge, who remains one the club’s most talented players despite his injury woes; Philippe Coutinho, arguably their key player now; and Javier Mascherano, who now resides at the Camp Nou.
Not a bad bunch, eh? However, for every Suarez, there is an Andy Carroll, who joined the club at the same time as the Uruguayan, only to turn out to be one of the biggest wastes of £35m any club had ever spent. For every Sturridge, a Scott Carson. For each Coutinho, a Jan Kromkamp. You get the point.
However, with a relative rate of success in the January transfer period, should the Reds once again invest this winter as they look to keep their fading chances of a title shot alive?
Here are FOUR moves we think Jurgen Klopp’s side should consider before the deadline passes…
Sead Kolasinac
As well as a ‘keeper, Liverpool, perhaps more so, need a left-back. James Milner really has done a fantastic job filling in for the Reds, however, it is only a matter of time before he gets caught out. The former Man City ace is not a natural full-back, nor has he ever been. As for Alberto Moreno, the less said the better.
According to BILD late last year, Jurgen Klopp has identified Schalke regular Sead Kolasinac as the long-term solution to the crisis at full-back. The Bosnian played alongside Joel Matip last season at Schalke, and given the success of the latter’s time at Anfield thus far, he could be a wise move for the club.
William Carvalho
A long-standing target for a host of Premier League clubs, William Carvalho, who won the European Championship with his country last year, has made over 130 appearances for current club Sporting Lisbon and has, according to A Bola (below) emerged as a target for Klopp’s team.
A natural defensive midfielder, Carvalho would offer an option the German gaffer doesn’t currently have.
Julian Brandt
Supposedly a target Liverpool are lining up for the summer, Brandt is clearly a player Klopp a) admires and b) wants. Bayer Leverkusen, quite rightly, will want to keep hold of their man, but money talks louder than ever in modern football, so why don’t the Reds pay a premium to get the winger in now rather than in six months’ time? They made a profit during the summer, after all.
Any more dropped point over the coming weeks in the league will leave the Kop side out of the title race completely and in danger of watching their once-promising season meander into a scrap for fourth place. There is also the Sadio Mane factor, with the Senegalese ace likely to unavailable until early February, while he may even be a little jaded upon his return from the Africa Cup of Nations.
