
Liverpool sit at the summit of the Premier League table and have emerged as the favourites to win the league ahead of Manchester City and Arsenal. The club are approaching the winter transfer window from a position of strength and fans want them to be more aggressive and proactive to bring in reinforcements to sustain their title challenge in the latter half of the season.
The Merseyside giants are feeling calm ahead of the January transfer window and there is no sign that the club are prepared to throw silly money in the middle of the season. Arne Slot is happy with the depth of his squad and does not believe that he needs new signings to win the Premier League.
However, Liverpool are ready to ensure that they are in a good position to take advantage if a long-term target suddenly becomes available in the January transfer window. The Reds are wary of being forced to spend more than they want to and believe getting players out of a club in the middle of a season is always likely to be more expensive. However, they want to be flexible and be more proactive if a player they like could be on the move in January.
The Merseyside giants failed to sign a midfielder in the summer transfer window and there is a clamour for the club to bring in the number six that they should have six months back.
Will Liverpool do anything in January? How will they look following the end of the window?
A key target could make all the difference to the team
Ryan Gravenberch’s emergence has helped Liverpool hide their shortcoming in getting a defensive midfielder in the last summer transfer window. Everyone is aware that Martin Zubimendi is the player they wanted to sign last summer and were left shocked when he declined the move.
It also shows how much they rated the Spaniard that Liverpool didn’t believe there was another player of his calibre available in the market who was ready to switch clubs. While the club can be accused of negligence for not identifying alternative targets, the Reds can also be lauded for being clear-eyed about what they wanted and not compromising.
Zubimendi is still admired but the player has said very little to suggest that he wants to leave Real Sociedad in the middle of the season. However, Jamie Carragher recently insisted that if they can Liverpool must try to sign the Spaniard in the winter transfer window. He is the number 6 Liverpool wanted and it would be unwise to suggest that their idea about the player has changed in the last six months. The midfielder has continued to perform at a consistent level and is still considered one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe.
Can you name the team Liverpool sold these players to?
If the Reds manage to bring in a player of his quality into the team it would change the dynamics of the starting eleven. Zubimendi will play at the base of the midfield and it would allow Slot to use Gravenberch’s considerable talent further up the pitch. It also lessens the pressure on Curtis Jones starting every week and Liverpool could continue to bed him into the first-team squad this season. The number of midfield combinations that would open up for Slot to use would allow the Liverpool manager to rotate more as the games come thick and fast in the latter half of the season.
While the rest of the team will remain the same, Zubimendi’s arrival will further settle down the midfield and give Slot more of a chance to control the pace of games because of the Spaniard’s obvious ability to dictate proceedings from the middle of the park.
Will Liverpool take that plunge and look to give Zubimendi one more chance to think about joining the Merseyside giants in the winter window?
How Liverpool could look after the window closes in January: Alisson, Trent, Konate, VVD, Robertson, Zubimendi, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Salah, Diaz, Jota
