The start of the January transfer window is less than two weeks away, but the current concern from Liverpool’s perspective is not so much which players are active targets as which players the club will not sign. Jurgen Klopp has already reduced the chances of a suitable player being available. Number 6 will undoubtedly be one of the areas of interest for supporters. Following the departure of Fabinho in the summer, Klopp’s main option for the role this season has been Alexis McAllister. According to the manager, he is not “born in the top six” (he came through Anfield).
But if Liverpool are to sign a big specialist next month, it looks like it won’t be Fulham’s Joao Palhinha.
Earlier this month, journalist David Lynch reported for This is Anfield that Liverpool had no intention of signing Palhinha in January, noting that at 28 he was “outside the typical signing age range” at FSG and that Fulham would could claim compensation. That’s around $89m (£70m/€81m). This was confirmed on Monday by Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, who wrote that Liverpool will certainly not play Palhinha this winter.
The Portuguese is a proven Premier League player who won Fulham’s Player of the Season award last year and will sign for ‘Win Now’. Given that he is 28 years old, this would be a move aimed at the team’s best prospects in the short to medium term, rather than the type of long-term deal that FSG would normally want to get the better value for their money.
Mikel Arteta and Arsenal have shown a greater willingness to adopt a winning mentality than Klopp and FSG. A year ago, the Gunners were hoping to sign 21-year-old Moises Caicedo but saw Brighton reject their bid of $89 million (via Sky Sports). They were also hoping to sign 22-year-old Mykhailo Mudric, but Shakhtar Donetsk wasn’t like that. The $110m (£86m/€100m) player was happy with how the package was structured and ended up moving to Chelsea (via The Athletic). Arsenal changed course after failing to score a key goal. Finally, bids were completed for Jorginho, 31, from London rivals Chelsea ($15m/£12m/€14m) and Leandro Trossard, 28, from Brighton (around $36m /£28m/€). 14 million). 32 million euros), a solid alternative to Caicedo and Mudric respectively.
Clearly, these are not the players of the future. They were players now. At the time, the Gunners were in contention for the Premier League title with Manchester City and were ultimately looking for the biggest impact possible in the short term, so they signed the European champions (at club and international level) and the belgian star. He has rocked Brighton for years. Arsenal ultimately missed out on the title, but it’s still hard to argue that either signing was a bad move.
Trossard was a big addition to the offensive rotation. He scored or assisted 19 goals in 42 appearances and Jorginho was a comfortable squad player, making 20 appearances in all competitions in the first 12 months. Arteta will therefore be looking to vindicate himself with early questions over his signings, particularly Jorginho, and whether he will make a similar move this winter as the Gunners look to defend their top spot.
Meanwhile, Klopp and FSG opted for 30-year-old Wataru Endo as a short-term solution to their midfield deficit last summer, but he looks set to confirm his usual principles in 2024. Only time will tell. Is this a wise decision?
