It’s very rare for Jurgen Klopp to dip his toes into the summer transfer market after the start of the Premier League season. In his seven years with Liverpool, the Reds have only signed four players after their opening match, while only six players have been snapped up after calendars have turned to August.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was the first example on transfer deadline day back in 2017. Having rejected a new contract to stay at Arsenal, as well as a move to Chelsea, he joined the Reds in a £35m deal with the Gunners opting to cash in rather than lose him on a free transfer at the end of his contract the following summer.
Adrian signed for Liverpool on a free transfer the day after the 2019 Community Shield as Simon Mignolet left for Club Brugge, with an injury to Alisson in the Reds’ Premier League opener at home to Norwich City days later not only handing him a premature debut, but also resulting in the free signing of Andy Lonergan.
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Meanwhile, a delayed start to the 2020/21 season in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic saw Kostas Tsimikas sign before the start of pre-season in August 2020, with Thiago Alcantara and Diogo Jota then brought in on successive days the following month on the eve of Liverpool’s second league game of the campaign against Chelsea.
As a result, Oxlade-Chamberlain is really the only example of the Reds strengthening their squad late on in a summer in normal circumstances. Therefore, historically it would appear rather unlikely for Klopp to add to his squad before the transfer window closes next Thursday.
Yet injuries could potentially force Liverpool’s hand, with Naby Keita ’s lay-off increasing the Reds’ total of absentees to 11 with Thiago, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jota, Ibrahima Konate, Curtis Jones, Calvin Ramsay, Joel Matip, Caoimhin Kelleher and Kaide Gordon already all sidelined, while Darwin Nunez is suspended.
While content with his numbers when everyone is fit, Klopp has conceded in an ideal world he would like to strengthen his squad further in the face of such setbacks. However, as has predominantly been the case at Anfield, Liverpool would only move for the right player.
Possessing no desire to panic-buy, the Reds are not in the market for a short-term fix, with any potential signing needing to be a player good enough to go into their starting XI now, but also be capable of staying there when the German’s walking wounded return.
"When [every midfielder is] fit, 100% [we have enough numbers], but even then we always look to strengthen, but we have to and we always did [make sure] that it must be the right player and if the right player is not available at this moment then we tend to deal with what we have rather than sign a player who is not 100% right,” Klopp insisted last week.
"This situation did not change. Now we have more injuries than we would have imagined and it would be cool to have another midfielder in, of course. But now we have a situation that when the boys come back and stuff like these it changes constantly.
"Then there is also another fact that I am not in charge of what we can spend. That's the situation. We get told things and then we deal with it. That is always the same, it didn't change. You could say that is why we are here with a good understanding and a bad understanding.
"I always have to accept that and always did. That is it. It makes no sense to worry about something you cannot change. That is a waste of energy, a waste of positivity.”
With Liverpool well-known admirers of Jude Bellingham, the England international would be the dream signing for the Reds. However, with Borussia Dortmund having no desire to sell until next year, if Klopp considers the 19-year-old the ‘right player’ and is to be successful in landing him, he will have to wait.
Yet that doesn’t help this heavily depleted Liverpool now. With an opportunity to sign Bellingham seemingly not presenting itself now, if they are to strengthen, they will have to look elsewhere.
In truth, with Keita, Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner all out of contract next summer, in the long-term the Reds need more than one new midfielder regardless of current injury setbacks. As such, there will be more than one player on their transfer longlists and shortlists as they weigh up their next moves.
Whether an opportunistic swoop to sign one such target early arises, akin to Liverpool’s premature signing of Luis Diaz back in January, only time will tell. But the gnawing thought in the back of one’s mind is if a desired target was available this summer, the Reds would have moved for them already.
However, this is where Oxlade-Chamberlain could provide the perfect model for the sort of transfer Klopp could turn to next. After all, had his Arsenal contract not been inside its final year with him rejecting offers of a new deal, and the Gunners reluctantly opting to sell late in the window back in 2017 as a result, would he have still ended that summer as a Liverpool player?
The Reds saw an opportunity and they took it, landing the midfielder for a cut-price £35m fee. Now, five years on, history could repeat itself.
Youri Tielemans has been loosely linked with Liverpool ever since he first moved to the Premier League with Leicester City, initially impressing on loan before joining the Foxes permanently from AS Monaco in July 2019.
The 25-year-old’s contract at the King Power Stadium expires next summer and, having so far resisted any offers of a new deal, the midfielder is expected to move on. In the midst of his contract status and with his future uncertain, he was relegated to substitute action for Leicester’s 2-1 defeat to Southampton last weekend.
It has been a frustrating summer for Brendan Rodgers with goalkeeper Alex Smithies his only new arrival on a free transfer. Meanwhile, long-serving goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has been sold to Nice and while Jamie Vardy recently signed a new contract, the likes of James Maddison and Wesley Fofana have repeatedly been linked with big-money moves away to help fund a Foxes squad revamp.
Mammoth bids from Newcastle United and Chelsea respectively have been rejected for the duo, yet their resolve for Tielemans is yet to be tested. With Arsenal said to be interested, it would be a surprise not to see at least one major outgoing at Leicester over the next week, freeing up funds for Rodgers to make a late attempt to bolster his squad.
Once valued as high as £65m, reports in Belgium claim the Foxes could be forced into selling the Belgian for as little as £17m due to his contract status and desire to leave. At such a fee, Liverpool would be mad not to consider him.
While you could argue if the Reds really wanted Tielemans, they would have moved already, as was the case with Oxlade-Chamberlain, leaving it later in this instance could force Leicester’s hand and lead to a more attractive deal.
Meanwhile, he’d certainly tick Liverpool boxes and provide attributes their midfield is currently lacking. Predominantly a ‘number eight’ who can also play as ‘number six’, he fills the roles Klopp’s squad requires.
Aged 25, he is at the peak of his powers, something only Keita can claim in the engine room at Anfield, while historically he has stayed clear of injury, having only missed six matches because of setbacks during his three and a half years with Leicester.
Proven in the Premier League, he provides goals and assists from midfield, while he also has an eye for a long-range piledriver. And he already possesses European experience in the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League, courtesy of his stints with Anderlecht and Monaco as well as Leicester.
It might still be a surprise if Liverpool did re-enter the market, with their stance remaining that their incoming business is complete ever since the Reds reported back for pre-season training at the start of July. Yet in Tielemans, a quality option is available at an affordable price.
While not the A-list arrival of Bellingham, he could be exactly what Klopp needs this season and beyond. With the Belgian’s future remaining uncertain as we enter this final week of the transfer market, is the opportunity to sign Tielemans one Liverpool can afford to say no to?
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