Liverpool are in the privileged position of avoiding a January panic to land reinforcements, given their spot at the top of the Premier League and place at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final, but Reds fans were hit with the shock news of Jurgen Klopp’s impending exit on Friday morning.
The club have so far been back to their ruthless best in the current campaign, but now have to begin planning for a life without their most iconic manager in recent history, and could perhaps even grant him a leaving gift to help him chase down trophies in his final few months.
Liverpool transfer news
With just under a week to go before the end of the winter window, the rumours have continued to circle over just who Liverpool could still welcome this month. Reports have mentioned names such as Piero Hinacapie, having apparently had their first approach rejected by Bayer Leverkusen, and Federico Redondo, who the Reds have also reportedly made contact for. Neither of those deals have taken place as of yet, however, and instead, Liverpool’s focus has been on a player who could be the perfect back-up for Mohamed Salah.
Related
All confirmed Premier League done deals: January transfer window 2024
With the January transfer window coming towards its conclusion, FFC has all the info for tracking your club’s winter transfer activity.
The Egyptian suffered an untimely injury whilst at the African Cup of Nations with Egypt and is now back at Liverpool hoping to recover in time to meet back up with his country, should they reach the latter stages of the competition. Liverpool, meanwhile, have been forced to cope without their star man, turning to the transfer market as a result.
According to reports in Spain, via Sport Witness, Liverpool have made an approach to sign Takefusa Kubo from Real Sociedad, but the player did not want to listen to the offer. The Japan international, who is therefore teammates with Liverpool’s Wataru Endo, has a €60m (£51m) release clause, so FSG will have to plan their next steps carefully if they want to land Klopp a parting gift to boost his squad for these final few months.
“Intelligent” Kubo can eventually replace Salah
With Salah now 31-years-old and into the last year of his current contract when the summer arrives, it may not be too long before Liverpool begin awkward discussions over seeking a replacement for Klopp’s star man, as well as the boss himself.
The 22-year-old is yet to even reach his prime and is already impressing many in the world of football, including former Manchester United man Shinji Kagawa, who said via Marca in 2019: “He’s a very good player. He already speaks Spanish because he was at the Barcelona academy for a bit and this is helping him a lot now. I think he can play well for Real Madrid. He has a very good chance [of succeeding in Spain]. He’s left-footed and very intelligent on the pitch. He always makes the right decision at the right time.”
Kubo’s stats so far this season speak for themselves. The winger has been involved in 10 goals in 25 appearances, with six goals and four assists to his name. It is an output that Liverpool may hope to build on even further, as they did when Salah arrived in 2017, and perhaps even welcome a replacement for the Egyptian in the process.
