Having been humbled by Brentford in embarrassing fashion in their first outing of 2023, calls for Liverpool to strengthen their squad further, notably in midfield, are only going to grow in the weeks ahead.
The Reds have already brought in one player, signing Cody Gakpo for an initial £37m from PSV Eindhoven after Luis Diaz was ruled out until March following knee surgery. But following the Dutchman’s arrival, Jurgen Klopp admitted the deal could impact any future Liverpool business in January and that he doesn’t expect to “splash the cash” in this month’s transfer window .
Of course, that doesn’t alter the fact that the Reds are in desperate need of a midfield revamp. And while it remains to be seen if they will be able to sign anyone else in January, their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League are growing increasingly fragile with each poor result.
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Yet regardless of funds, Liverpool ’s hands are still tied when it comes to signing new players thanks to Premier League’s home-grown rules.
While clubs are allowed to name a 25-man squad, made up of players over the age of 21, that quota is required to contain eight home-grown players. The Reds only have seven such players so are only able to name a maximum squad of 24 as a result.
Klopp named a 23-man squad for the first half of the season, with the arrival of Gakpo taking Liverpool’s squad to maximum capacity. As a result, the Reds currently only have room to sign a player who qualifies as home-grown or is under the age of 21, unless they leave out or sell one of their current senior players.
A "home-grown player" means a player who, irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21). Meanwhile, for the 2022/23 campaign, Under-21 players will have been born on or after January 1, 2001.
Admittedly long standing target Jude Bellingham would qualify as both home-grown and an Under-21s player, but Borussia Dortmund seemingly have no intention of allowing the midfielder to depart before the summer.
If Liverpool did wish to sign a further senior player in January, it wouldn’t be as simple as leaving out any of their current 24 senior players to make room for a new arrival either.
The likes of Nat Phillips, Caoimhin Kelleher, or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who is out of contract in the summer, would perhaps be seen as ‘sacrificable’ players. However, all three qualify as home-grown so if they were to be left out of the Reds’ squad, Klopp’s maximum permitted quota would reduce further accordingly.
Of course, Liverpool could look to cancel the loan deal of Juventus midfielder Arthur Melo, who has made just one appearance so far because of injury, leave out third-choice goalkeeper Adrian, or look to sell the likes of Naby Keita ahead of his contract expiring in the summer to make room for further signings. Then there is also the reluctant possibility of leaving out Diaz, depending on how his initial recovery from knee surgery is going and when he is expected to be available for selection once again.
But any such decision would be a calculated gamble, and highlights the plate-spinning required if Klopp is to add to his squad once again in January.
Admittedly, there remains the possibility of signing a homegrown player or an Under-21s player to avoid such a headache. But with the pool for affordable mid-season arrivals of suitable quality already limited, such a player would be an even more challenging one to obtain.
As a result, with Anfield sources stressing that a mid-season move for any midfielder remains unlikely following the signing of Gakpo, it would seem, with such obstacles in the way of a further arrival, Liverpool fans are currently poised to be left disappointed.
Liverpool’s current Premier League squad
Goalkeepers: Alisson Becker, Adrian, Caoimhin Kelleher (HG).
Defenders: Joe Gomez (HG), Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Kostas Tsimikas, Andy Robertson, Joel Matip, Nat Phillips (HG), Trent Alexander-Arnold (HG).
Midfielders: Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara, James Milner (HG), Naby Keita, Jordan Henderson (HG), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (HG), Arthur Melo.
Forwards: Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez.
Selected U21s players: Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Calvin Ramsay, Fabio Carvalho, Bobby Clark, Stefan Bajcetic, Kaide Gordon, Ben Doak.
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