After a January transfer window where Liverpool were not expected to make any major additions, Reds fans have received a delightful boost with the signing of Luis Diaz.
The Colombian completed his move from Porto the day before deadline day to add an exciting new option to Jurgen Klopp’s attacking armoury with the Reds still fighting for silverware this season on four fronts.
The 25-year-winger was believed to have had a £67m release clause in his contract with the Portuguese giants, but with Porto forced to take a financial hit after finishing third in their Champions League group behind Liverpool and Atletico Madrid, Diaz has put pen to paper on a long-term deal believed to be worth up to £49m with add-ons.
He will wear the number 23 shirt at Anfield and is set to arrive on Merseyside once he has completed international duty with Colombia, who face Argentina in a World Cup qualifier in Cordoba on Tuesday evening.
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But with the January transfer window not due to shut until 11pm on Monday could there yet be any more incomings or outgoings at Anfield?
Diaz’s arrival is already one more signing that many people expected Liverpool to make this January but reports emerged on Sunday afternoon that the Reds are attempting to also seal a deal for Fulham attacking midfielder Fabio Carvalho.
Liverpool's interest in the 19-year-old Portuguese is well known but Cottagers’ boss Marco Silva laid clear his club’s stance on Carvalho and that he expected the youngster to remain with them for the remainder of the campaign earlier this week.
“Fabio will be with us until the end of the season,” he said on Friday, adding, “I would like to see him here for more years.
“From day one I have been trying to keep him. It is not a surprise that clubs are interested in Fabio. We are talking about a young player with big talent.
“The situation is not easy because he is in the last year of his contract, but that is the reality. It is out of our plans for him to leave the club in this window. It has been difficult for us to renew with him, but we are trying.
“It is always difficult with a player of this talent – even with a contract it is difficult to keep him, and without it is even worse. But Fabio will be with us until the end of this season.”
However the ECHO understands Liverpool are looking to bring him to Anfield before Monday night's 11pm deadline.
Anfield sources have stressed, however, that the club won't pay over the odds for a player who could join on a free transfer in the summer months.
There is also a concern that they could lose out to a European giant with Carvalho - who has scored seven goals in 17 Championship appearances so far this season - able to talk about a pre-contract agreement that would see Fulham due training compensation later down the line, with Borussia Dortmund said to be tracking the player.
A sizeable snag for Liverpool is that Fulham are under no pressure to sell and may feel Carvalho is more valuable to them for the rest of the season as they push for promotion back to the Premier League rather than offloading him on a cut-price deal this month.
There could yet also be some transfer activity in terms of outgoings from Anfield.
The futures of Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi have been subject to debate for quite some time and the Reds have reportedly rejected overtures for the Japanese international from Monaco and Leeds while the Belgian has reportedly become a target for Serie A side Atalanta.
The arrival of Diaz and potentially Carvalho adds further competition for places in the attacking areas and should Liverpool receive an acceptable offer for either Minamino or Origi they could now be tempted to do business.
There could also be late interest in the two centre-backs whose herculean efforts during last season’s defensive injury crisis helped the Reds claim an unlikely place in this season’s Champions League.
Nat Phillips’s only start this season came in the Champions League win away to AC Milan and the 24-year-old is thought to be available for £12-15m, with Newcastle United and Watford having already had bids dismissed, while West Ham United and Burnley along with clubs from Italy and Germany are said to be holding an interest.
Rhys Williams, meanwhile, began a season-long loan with Championship side Swansea City in the summer but returned to Anfield earlier this month having only made five league appearances for the Welsh side. He could go out on loan again with Sheffield United said to be interested.
Midfielder Leighton Clarkson also had a season-long loan spell with a Championship club, Blackburn Rovers, cut short in January but it is thought likely he will now stay at Anfield for the rest of the campaign.
