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Liverpool have been hit by their latest injury setback after Conor Bradley was ruled out for the rest of this season with a knee issue he suffered at Arsenal last week.
As was seen following the losses of Giovanni Leoni at centre-back and Alexander Isak up front, there has been speculation that Liverpool might use the transfer market to bolster at right-back.
But
they do not intend to sign cover for Leoni or Isak in the current window, and that is likely to be the case for Bradley, as well.
Bradley’s return will be dependent on surgery and how he recovers, and he has not yet been ruled out of the World Cup if Northern Ireland qualify.
For Liverpool, the hope is that he will be back for the start of pre-season and — given the way the club operate — they would not make a permanent signing for such a period of time.
In Bradley’s absence, Jeremie Frimpong and Joe Gomez can deputise, while Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones are able to operate there if required.
Liverpool seem to be among those keeping their powder dry for the next market, when Ibrahima Konate is on track to exit due to his contract expiring. There has been no breakthrough on new terms.
That, plus the deals of Virgil van Dijk and Gomez ending 12 months later, means the heart of defence will be an area of focus.
Similar may apply to Mohamed Salah’s position. Despite recent uncertainty,
the Egypt attacker is fully expected to finish the campaign at Anfield. It will be hoped his situation then settles down and that he sees out the rest of his agreement, which runs until June 2027. However, if problems remain, it is possible conversations will take place about parting ways early.
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What has happened this week?
Liverpool’s defensive options were further depleted by Conor Bradley suffering a season-ending knee injury against Arsenal last week. Head coach Arne Slot had previously lost young centre-back Giovanni Leoni to a torn ACL on his debut in September. Up front, record-signing Alexander Isak is recovering from surgery on a broken leg.
The Premier League champions have already been active in this window, bolstering their ranks at academy level.
They completed the signing of centre-back Mor Talla Ndiaye from Senegalese club Amitie for a fee of around £1million ($1.3m). The left-footed Senegal youth international, who turned 18 last week, will start his Liverpool career with Rob Page’s under-21s squad.
Liverpool are also close to a deal for another teenage defender, Ifeanyi Ndukwe of Austria Vienna. He doesn’t turn 18 until March, so the plan is to have him on board for the start of pre-season in July. They have also signed Burnley’s 19-year-old centre-back Noah Adekoya, who will begin with Page’s under-21s, too.
Could they be tempted into moving for Marc Guehi this window?
Liverpool have a long-established interest in Marc Guehi, having been on the brink of signing him for £35million last summer before Crystal Palace pulled the plug at the 11th hour.
Since then, senior Anfield figures have expected the England international to stay at Palace until the end of his contract in June, when they would attempt to beat off competition from a host of clubs to sign him as a free agent.
A January move hasn’t been deemed realistic, due to the kind of financial package it would take to attempt to buy a player who is out of contract in just five months. As well as agreeing a hefty price with Palace, there would probably need to be a big signing-on fee for Guehi, given the lucrative options he would have on the table if he was a free agent come the summer.
What positions/players are they looking at?
As my colleague David Ornstein reports, the loss of Bradley hasn’t changed Liverpool’s approach to this window. They were ready to move if a suitable market opportunity came up and that remains the case. It’s still expected to be relatively quiet for the champions, especially given the record-breaking £450million spending spree last summer.
They aren’t short of cover at right-back with Jeremie Frimpong, Joe Gomez and Calvin Ramsay all capable of playing there. However, Gomez is the only senior centre-back Slot currently has as cover for starters Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate. Midfielders Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones and Wataru Endo have filled in at right-back previously.
Which players could be leaving?
Juventus want Federico Chiesa on loan but Liverpool are highly unlikely to sanction a temporary move for the Italian forward this month.
Chiesa has clocked up 21 appearances for Slot this season, and there’s no appetite to offload him, especially with Isak out at least until March and Ekitike having only recently recovered from a hamstring problem.
For Liverpool to even consider doing business, there would need to be a significant permanent offer on the table, and they would need to be able to recruit a suitable replacement.
At this stage, the only departures are expected to involve youngsters heading out on loan to gain further experience. Amara Nallo is set to be among them, following the arrival of fellow defender Ndiaye. Ramsay was expected to be farmed out too, but is now more likely to stay as a result of Bradley’s injury.