Liverpool ‘consider signing midfield on loan before January deadline’
Liverpool are reportedly open to signing a midfielder on loan before the January transfer window closes on Tuesday.
The Reds’ only winter signing so far has been Dutch striker Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven, but fans have been calling for Jurgen Klopp to add at least one midfielder.
Liverpool chose not to spend money on a big name in the engine room last summer, but brought Arthur Melo to the club on loan from Juventus on transfer deadline day.
The Brazilian played just 13 minutes for Liverpool due to a serious thigh injury, although he may be able to make his long-awaited return next month following surgery.
Players such as Jude Bellingham, Ruben Neves and Matheus Nunes are all on Liverpool’s radar but the Merseyside club will wait until the summer before moving on to one of his main targets
As Liverpool reshuffle their resources for a possible nine-figure attack on Bellingham, Klopp’s attacks continue to struggle for form and have seen their FA Cup defense ended in a 2-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion in the fourth round on Sunday. After that Amex defeat, Klopp ruled out the possibility of his team doing business in January, telling the press: “No, nothing’s happening in this transfer window, that’s all. Everything is fine.”
However, the Daily Mail says Liverpool could still try to sign a new midfielder on loan in the coming days, and the Reds are looking to sign several players from Europe’s top clubs.
The report said midfielders from Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Atletico Madrid are all being monitored by Liverpool, though it’s unclear whether Klopp has specific names in mind.
Liverpool will all lose James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at the end of the season on a free transfer, after which the club will step up their hunt for top targets such as Bellingham and Nunes.
While Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain are expected to leave at the end of their contracts, Klopp has hinted that he would like the 37-year-old Milner to stay at Anfield for a while longer. “We have other plans with Milly, but Milly wants to keep playing, I think everyone understands that,” Klopp told reporters earlier this month. “You can’t normally judge it by her age. She’s 37, but it doesn’t look that way someday when she’s working out.”
“It’s not like Milly expects to play 64 games a season, but in a 64-game season Milly could be hugely important. That’s how it is.” Milly played 600 games, most of them for Liverpool.
“Even a player who’s had a few clubs can end up at ‘his’ club and I would consider Liverpool ‘his’ club and I’m pretty sure the club should use his character and his mindset because he’s really something special.
“There may be more whimsical players, but none with a similar attitude and that makes him incredibly valuable to us. And it’s not because I’m ‘too loyal’; it’s just a fact.”
Alongside Keita, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Milner, Liverpool’s Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcantara, Harvey Elliott and Stefan Bajcetic all struggled for minutes in midfield and the latter recently signed a contract extension until 2027 as a reward for his historic season.