As the January transfer window approaches, the clamours will grow louder for Liverpool to invest in the playing squad, adding a new player or two in a bid to push their top four challenge. While it’s reasonable for the fans to hope quality is added, perhaps most of all in the centre of defence where the club failed to add anybody in summer, it’s not the only route the club could take.
The winter window also brings with it the possibility for arranging future deals, most pertinently with those who will be out of contract in the summer. In some years the quality isn’t always of a particularly high level with potential free transfers, but that’s very much not the case in 2018. Indeed even within the Premier League there are a handful of the Reds’ rivals facing losing players in this situation—Ander Herrera and Manchester United, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil at Arsenal—while Jurgen Klopp’s own side might lose Emre Can the very same way.
It’s not entirely probable that the Reds will look to Old Trafford or the Emirates for new recruits, but all around Europe there is plenty of talent which should be considered for low-cost, high-quality summer additions.
Leon Goretzka
Top billing has to go to a German midfielder to replace Emre Can if he does indeed depart, which seems more probable with every passing week.
Goretzka is perhaps a more rounded attacking option than Can, a goalscoring threat more regularly when playing as a No. 8, but he’s also a dependable and consistent No. 6 option in a double pivot midfield.
The Schalke man will be wanted by plenty of top sides but he’d likely walk into the Reds’ lineup; pairing him up with Naby Keita next season makes a lot of sense for the Anfield club and it’s a deal Klopp and his administrative staff should pursue with the utmost intent for as long as Goretzka remains on the market.
Stefan de Vrij
An absolute must is for the Reds to restructure the centre-back pairing. Both full-back roles look impressive this term and set for the future, but the Lovren-Matip pairing doesn’t inspire enough confidence, isn’t available regularly and Ragnar Klavan is, at best, of fourth-choice quality given the level Liverpool aspire to.
Stefan de Vrij is better than each and every one of them, and out of contract in the summer—he’s simply a guarantee of improved performances, more reliability and much, much better overall defending.
He’s a leader, an organiser, is immensely strong and good in the channels with his covering—everything the Reds could want. Pair him with a big expensive addition if it’s really required, but even adding him as the only new face at the back would be a step forward.
Reports suggest he’ll renew with Lazio with a low release clause to ensure the club get some income for him; even if it’s £20 million, he’d still represent a bargain buy considering some other players’ price tag and the Reds’ needs in the position.
Max Meyer
If Goretzka signs a new deal or is lured elsewhere, there’s an alternative option in his club team-mate Max Meyer.
Having previously been a much more attack-minded midfielder, he has had great success this term back in a No. 6 role, dictating from deep, covering against counters and looking to offer his team structure in the centre.
Meyer is a great talent in a technical sense, clearly still learning his role positionally and how to be a focal point for the team’s build-up play, but he has a very high ceiling and there’s lots to work with.
Another good option to bolster the centre of the park.
Diego Reyes
Not every signing has to be a guaranteed first choice, a week-in, week-out starter—sometimes it’s tough to remember that when assessing the impact of every player.
Signing someone like Diego Reyes would be a big boost to Liverpool’s squad thanks to his versatility, as well as his defensive ability; he’s good enough to be a second- or third- central defender, comfortable on the ball and great at covering deeper inside the penalty box, but he also has form at full-back and holding midfield when required.
As a free transfer, the Mexican would offer plenty to the Reds in terms of reliability and positional cover, and at 25 he has his best years ahead of him—he’d be a wise addition from Porto in every respect.
