When Fabio Carvalho scored for Fulham against Man City at the start of the month, just days after seeing a move to Liverpool fall through, Reds fans collectively shared a knowing glance.
While the 19-year-old might not have completed a last-gasp move to Anfield on January transfer deadline day, he’ll know full well Liverpool look set to move for him again when his contract expires in the summer. Jurgen Klopp even hinted as much in his first pre-match press conference after the transfer window closed.
With the Reds’ interest in the Portuguese now public, supporters will inevitably be keeping a close eye on his progress in the assumption that he will be a Liverpool player in the summer.
But he’s not the only star in the Reds’ sights currently being afforded the same treatment.
Having signed Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz over the past 18 months, it would appear Klopp is slowly putting together his ‘next’ front three with Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah all out of contract in 2023 and members of the 30s club by the end of the season.
That doesn’t mean any of the trio will leave Liverpool in the near future, just that the Reds are preparing for a life beyond a triumvirate that has been so crucial to everything they have achieved under their German manager.
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With Jota and Diaz signed up, FSG have provided Klopp with two ‘successors’ for his trio, with it remaining to be seen if a long-term replacement for Salah is next on the transfer wishlist.
Yet it would seem that Liverpool are at least considering such a prospect, while also working on the Egyptian’s new contract, with interest in both West Ham United’s Jarrod Bowen and Leeds United’s Raphinha confirmed back in the summer.
The Reds will have continued to monitor the duo and, with the pair shining in the Premier League so far this season, will inevitably be liking what they are seeing so far.
That doesn’t mean that Liverpool will move for either player though. Their recent transfer history proves as much, with the club no strangers to suddenly moving for a player out of the blue after previously undisclosed, long-held interest.
But with interest in Bowen and Raphinha both being public, supporters have spent the season sharing knowing looks whenever either of the duo have done something of note.
Considering the former has 12 goals and 11 assists this season, while the latter netted his ninth goal of the campaign against Manchester United on Sunday, they have both caught onlooking Reds eyes fairly frequently in recent months.
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Such returns can only tell half a story, however.
For example, Raphinha might have scored Leeds’ second goal in the space of a minute against Manchester United as they fought back from 2-0 down only to lose 4-2, but the Brazilian started proceedings on the bench.
His half-time introduction came in response to Marcelo Bielsa’s side being 2-0 down, but was a result of a disappointing performance against Everton last time out which had seen him hooked at the interval himself in a 3-0 loss.
“I chose to form the attack with other players. A decision like that can happen throughout the season,” Bielsa said when explaining his decision to drop Raphinha after the final whistle.
In truth, his form in recent weeks was not living up to the heights he had previously set in the first half of the campaign, with his tap-in against the Red Devils on Sunday only his first goal of 2022.
Scoring might have been the perfect response to such a decision, with the Brazilian determined to prove his manager wrong for snubbing him, but he did little else to get supporters excited after his introduction.
Liverpool fans will see his goals and assists, his tricks and flicks and form their opinions of his talents from the odd televised appearance alongside highlights packages, YouTube reels and social media clips.
Yet if he remains on the Reds radar, club scouts will be doing their homework and watching him extensively, both the good and the bad, before deciding whether he makes the journey from transfer longlist to shortlist before assessing a potential move.
However, a look at the fixture list and both Raphinha and Bowen will be granted the opportunity of Anfield auditions and the chance to impress Klopp first-hand over the next few weeks with Liverpool hosting both Leeds and West Ham in their next two Premier League games.
Former targets have used such opportunities to sway the Reds in the past, with the likes of Mane, Virgil van Dijk, Gini Wijnaldum and even Takumi Minamino impressing against Klopp’s Liverpool prior to their own moves to Anfield.
Meanwhile, Diaz, Alisson, Thiago Alcantara, Xherdan Shaqiri, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Andy Robertson, Diogo Jota and Ragnar Klavan all made a lasting impression on the German in the past when facing the Reds, with Joel Matip also catching his eye against his Borussia Dortmund side in the Bundesliga, ahead of Liverpool swooping for their signatures.
It remains to be seen if publicised interest in Raphinha or Bowen will be followed up come the summer, but with both taking to the Anfield turf in the next few weeks, the stage is theirs to really grab Klopp’s attention and force the Reds’ hand when the transfer window re-opens.
