It was all quiet at Liverpool’s Kirkby training base as transfer deadline day chugged to its conclusion last night.
Arne Slot’s players were enjoying the second of two days off, given to them following Saturday’s hard-fought 2-0 away win against in-form Bournemouth.
They had travelled from the south coast up to London for a team bonding night out, where they dined in Japanese-Peruvian restaurant Pirana in the heart of the affluent Mayfair district. It was a rare chance to relax and socialise together given the crowded nature of the schedule: if Liverpool go the distance in all four competitions at home and in Europe, they will play 65 matches this season.
And Monday brought confirmation that their pursuit of glory on those four fronts will be conducted without an injection of new talent during the winter window as all the late business was conducted elsewhere.
Liverpool’s stance throughout January had been that they were highly unlikely to strengthen the squad before yesterday’s deadline. Despite the clamour among a section of the fanbase to add more depth to the squad, first-year head coach Slot had made it clear he was happy with the options available to him.
Sporting director Richard Hughes, also new this season, was ready to react if injuries cut deep or a market opportunity came up that made sense for the long term. However, neither of those scenarios materialised.
It means Italy international forward Federico Chiesa, who cost an initial £10million from Juventus last summer, remains the only senior player to arrive at Anfield over the past three transfer windows. Although they do already have a deal in place to sign Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili for £29million this summer.
Chiesa is Liverpool’s only senior signing in the past three windows (Lars Baron/Getty Images)
Any concern outside the club over whether Liverpool are sufficiently equipped for the challenges ahead isn’t shared by those within.
Senior Anfield figures point to the strength of Slot’s bench at Bournemouth: Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Wataru Endo, Conor Bradley, Jarell Quansah, Kostas Tsimikas and Caoimhin Kelleher. Chiesa and Joe Gomez were both fit for selection, too, but there just wasn’t room for them in the 20-man matchday squad.
There were similar murmurings of discontent following the club’s lack of transfer business in the summer, but the controversial decision not to pursue a Plan B after failing in an attempt to sign Real Sociedad and Spain midfielder Martin Zubimendi has paid off handsomely, with Ryan Gravenberch flourishing in the No 6 role.
The belief shared by both Hughes and Slot that there was sizeable room for development among the group of players Jurgen Klopp left behind when he stepped down last May has not been misplaced, with Liverpool now six points clear at the top of the Premier League with a game in hand.
On Thursday, they will secure their passage to the Carabao Cup final next month if they overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield. They are also into the last 16 of the Champions League, having finished first in its 36-team league phase with seven wins out of eight, and through to next weekend’s fourth round of the FA Cup.
However, memories of last spring, when Liverpool faded badly with the finish line in sight, are still fresh. They led the Premier League at the start of April but trailed home in third behind Manchester City and Arsenal after winning just three of Klopp’s final eight league matches.
But there’s optimism internally that Slot’s rotation policy — coupled with a less intense training regime and a better injury record — will help ensure Liverpool last the pace better this season. They also won’t have to deal with the emotion surrounding Klopp’s farewell this time and they all have the experience of a Premier League title race under their belts.
The Athletic revealed last month that Liverpool held a long-standing interest in Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. However, they didn’t ultimately pursue the Georgia international, who joined Paris Saint-Germain last month in a deal worth around £66m. Signing another left-sided attacker would have made little sense anyway given they already have Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz.
Left-back has been a hot topic of debate given the scrutiny of Andy Robertson’s form this season. Tsimikas clearly isn’t his long-term successor in the starting XI, but strengthening in that department was always more likely to happen next summer than in January.
Liverpool were interested in Kvaratskhelia but he has moved to PSG (Fred Tanneau/AFP via Getty Images)
Now Gomez is over a hamstring injury, Slot is back up to four specialist centre-backs, with Quansah showing signs of regaining confidence after a difficult spell in the first half of the season. The lack of cover for Gravenberch is also often cited as a squad weakness, but there is a dearth of elite No 6s available in the game and Endo has filled in admirably when required.
It was part of the club’s strategy to sit tight during this season’s winter window rather than a case of the owners being unwilling to sanction investment. Their self-sustaining business model means Liverpool need to be shrewd with how they use their resources and there will certainly be incomings come the summer.
What areas need bolstering will be heavily influenced by the outcome of the contract sagas involving Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who have entered the final five months of their respective deals. Contingency plans have been drawn up for all eventualities.
Liverpool’s determination to keep this squad together, in order to maximise what they get out of the 2024-25 season, meant they turned down an approach from Real Madrid to buy Alexander-Arnold in January.
They now run the risk of losing their vice-captain for nothing when his contract expires in June, but they felt that keeping Alexander-Arnold until their campaign concludes in May was worth more than pocketing £20m to £30m and dealing with the upheaval his mid-season departure would cause to the team.
An intermediary did contact Liverpool about interest from the Saudi Pro League in Nunez, but no negotiations took place because the club’s stance was that he was simply not for sale.
Nunez was the target of interest from Saudi Arabia (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Nunez’s long-term future remains unclear, with the former Benfica striker still unable to secure a regular starting spot at Liverpool in his third season with them, but his late heroics in the recent win against Brentford highlighted his ability to make an impact off the bench. He gives Slot a different type of attacking option through the middle compared to Jota and Diaz.
Liverpool also turned down bids from Crystal Palace (£15m) and Ipswich Town (£16m) for young Scottish winger Ben Doak. They are delighted with his development on loan at Championship side Middlesbrough over these past few months and believe the now 19-year-old can be part of Slot’s first-team plans next season.
There were some departures on deadline day, with 19-year-old striker Jayden Danns signing a new contract before joining Sunderland, also of the second tier, on loan for the rest of the season. Winger Kaide Gordon, 20, completed a similar temporary switch to another Championship side, Portsmouth. Earlier in the window, Marcelo Pitaluga (Fluminense) and Tom Hill (Harrogate Town) sealed permanent moves, while there were new loan deals for Stefan Bajcetic (Las Palmas) and Calvin Ramsay (Kilmarnock).
Those craving the sight of Liverpool buying from a position of strength this winter were left disappointed. But, internally at the club, there are no regrets. They didn’t see a need for reinforcements.
This squad has built the perfect platform to secure silverware this season and they are being backed to finish the job over the next four months.
(Top photo: Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)
