Jamie Carragher has urged Liverpool to dip back into the transfer market this January and sign a central defender—despite the fact the Reds spent a record Premier League sum last summer.
Liverpool splashed £446 million ($583.4 million at current conversion) as they sought to build on a title-winning season, twice breaking the record fee for a Premier League signing when recruiting Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak. Huge sums were also spent on Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Hugo Ekitiké and Giovanni Leoni.
However, the defending champions have endured an underwhelming start to the season, with a particularly disappointing recent run of form that has seen them lose seven of their last ten outings in all competitions.
Liverpool’s defence has been particularly culpable for their disastrous results and Reds legend Carragher says a new centre back must be signed in the winter to avoid the campaign further “derailing.
“Liverpool need to spend in January, they need to buy a centre back, they should have bought a centre back in the summer,” Carragher told Sky Sports. “They didn’t, and then the one centre back they did buy, Leoni, a young Italian player, looked fantastic in the game that he played, a Carabao Cup game. Unfortunately, he got an ACL injury, so we won’t see him until next season.
“Liverpool are probably one injury away at centre back from really derailing the season, so they have to go to the market in January.”
Fortunately for the Reds, they are still able to spend in the winter despite their massive summer overhaul, and they could well finalise a deal they came ever so close to completing on deadline day.
Marc Guéhi: The One That Got Away
Liverpool identified the need to sign an experienced centre back alongside Leoni over the summer, but their last-ditch attempts to recruit Crystal Palace captain Marc Guéhi failed at the eleventh hour. The 25-year-old had even completed a medical for the Reds and filmed a farewell video for Palace’s social media accounts before the plug was pulled.
With his contract expiring next summer, the England international was set to cost Liverpool just £35 million, and it appears possible that the Merseysiders will re-enter negotiations for Guéhi this winter.
Despite Eagles chairman Steve Parish seemingly ruling out a mid-season exit for the defender, recent reports have suggested that Liverpool might be the only club willing to part ways with a transfer fee for Guéhi in January—other clubs content to wait until he’s a free agent before making their move.
Whether an agreement can be reached between Liverpool and Palace remains to be seen, but Carragher and many other Reds supporters will be hoping a deal is completed.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Need to Spend’—Liverpool Urged to Return to Transfer Market in January.
