The final few days of the transfer window are here and it is not only Liverpool that has work to get done. Plenty of deals could yet happen across the Premier League and beyond.
Liverpool needs to get another center-back and a midfielder in the door in an ideal scenario, but it remains to be seen if that will be possible. Jürgen Klopp and Jörg Schmadtke will be making calls in the final days.
Both Liverpool and Manchester United, according to The Independent (and many others), are chasing Bayern Munich’s young talent Ryan Gravenberch. If the player decides he needs to move on to get regular football, a late scramble could ensue.
In a dream end to the window, of course, Liverpool would win that race. Gravenberch is probably not the type of midfielder that Klopp’s squad needs most (a more defensive-minded one), but if the chance to get someone as good as that comes up, it has to be taken — it would be very much now or never if he becomes available on the market.
But what about for Liverpool’s rivals? Across Europe, with the Reds not being in the Champions League, the likes of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are not really anything of their business for this year.
But domestically, there is plenty to watch out for. Aside from the potential battle for Gravenberch, it would be preferable for Liverpool to see some other deals not happen.
If Manchester United does not get Gravenberch, for instance, is there a panic move that might happen? Erik ten Hag could probably do with getting some cover for Casemiro, who has begun the season a little less fresh-looking than he was in 2022/23. Liverpool fans will hope that doesn’t happen and the Old Trafford side can be overtaken.
Manchester City has made a bid worth $65m (£52m/€60m) for Matheus Nunes, Fabrizio Romano reports. What that would mean for Kalvin Phillips is yet to become clear but if Pep Guardiola could not get a player like Nunes (who he once labeled one of the best midfielders in the world) that would be handy from his perspective.
If that $65m move did not end up happening, Manchester City would be (marginally) weaker, though even then, it is hard to make a case for the Etihad side not winning the title again. It seems more likely that it will go through.
At Chelsea and Newcastle, it feels like both squads have some way to go in order to get to the level of Liverpool, particularly in attack. That is not necessarily so bad for Mauricio Pochettino, in his debut season and without any European football to contend with, but Eddie Howe will find out his side’s Champions League fate a few hours before the deadline.
Leave a Reply