January could be a quiet month for Liverpool following the Christmas arrival of Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven in a £45million deal.
Jurgen Klopp has already hinted the 23-year-old will be their only signing of the month due to Liverpool having a smaller budget than the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and even Newcastle. Yet there could be a twist in the tale.
The Reds remain on the lookout for a new central midfielder and few would be surprised if they made a move after snatching Colombian forward Luis Diaz from under Tottenham's nose this time last year. Here are the latest transfer rumours from Merseyside.
Liverpool want to double up
Liverpool are interested in signing two central midfielders between now and the end of the upcoming summer transfer window, according to CaughtOffside's Fabrizio Romano.
The Reds are reportedly interested in Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham and Benfica's Enzo Fernandez after they both impressed for England and Argentina respectively at the World Cup in Qatar. Yet the two youngsters are expected to cost a fortune.
It's believed Dortmund want around £130m for Bellingham, 19, and Benfica have slapped a £102m release clause on Fernandez, 21. It's hard to imagine Liverpool affording either player right now after splashing £45m on Gakpo earlier in the transfer window.
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As such, it's claimed Liverpool have put together a transfer shortlist with more than one central midfielder on it. There is said to be an 'expectation' they will sign one or two new central midfielders during the next two transfer windows to sort out the position.
Liverpool fans are concerned by their ageing midfield, with Jordan Henderson (32), Thiago Alcantara (31) and Fabinho (29) all past their theoretical peaks. Furthermore, Naby Keita, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are all out of contract in June.
Klopp's fiery 'monopoly' response
Klopp has tried to play down speculation by insisting Liverpool "cannot play monopoly" in the market. The comment was made during a press conference on New Year's Day.
"I am now seven years and a few months here and every transfer window is pretty much the same, we talk about these things as though money wouldn’t play a role," said Klopp. "Like, who cares? It is never like this that you could just spend money.
"I don’t want to disappoint anybody but we signed an outstanding player like Cody Gakpo and the next thing you can read is, 'Who next?' It is like we didn’t have a team, honestly! We cannot play like monopoly. We never did and I don’t understand it."
Yet Klopp did confess Liverpool will make their move if the right player comes along. He added: "Again, if there is something we can do - and that means the right player and financial situation - we will do it. And if not, then not."
Brighton chief sends Liverpool warning
Brighton's chief executive Paul Barber has told Liverpool and their rivals they will not entertain offers for Moises Caicedo or Alexis Mac Allister in January.
The Reds are reportedly interested in signing both players after their impressive starts to the season. Caicedo, 21, has produced a series of outstanding performances in the Premier League and Mac Allister, 24, helped Argentina win the recent World Cup in Qatar.
Yet Brighton have no interest in selling either player. "In an ideal world our squad, which is as good as it has been for a long time, will remain intact through the whole of January and we will go into the second half of the season as we are," Barber told The Argus.
"The next 30-odd days is unpredictable and we will deal with whatever comes in. But we are not offering anyone to anyone."
Barber has also confirmed Liverpool have not offered £62m for Caicedo, as previously reported. He added: "No [there has been no contact] - and we don’t want any... We know there is going to be interest in Alexis. We know Moises Caicedo is one of the top talents.
"This is normal, this is the world we wanted to operate in and this is the world we are operating in. We can’t be surprised when there is interest and at some point we have to accept that these players will go on to play at an even higher level than ours.
"But, at the moment, we are going well. We are looking forward to the rest of the season and we want to try and keep our group together."
