When Liverpool return to domestic action after the conclusion of the 2022 World Cup next month, the January transfer window will be looming.
The Reds, who beat Southampton 3-1 in their final game prior to the mid-season break, will return to action in the League Cup away at Man City on Thursday 22 December, before travelling to Aston Villa for their Premier League return on Boxing Day and then seeing the calendar year out at home to Leicester City on Friday 30 December.
Considering Jurgen Klopp won’t face the media at a league press conference again for over a month, he was understandably quizzed about Liverpool ’s January plans on more than one occasion last week when both previewing and reviewing his side’s clash with the Saints.
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Yet while he was open to the possibility of adding to his squad when the transfer window re-opens, the German was keeping his cards rather close to his chest when directly asked if he plans to sign players in January as he admitted no decisions have yet been made.
"It is not about money, you have to plan," Klopp told reporters on Friday. "It is definitely going on, it’s clear. I am very positive about the whole thing because either way it will be fine.
"I have a really close relationship with the owners and I always knew what we can do and what we can’t do. When we were discussing, it’s not that I ask something, they say no and I stop asking.
"It is just before we speak to you there are plenty of discussions. Now we have to see what we do. Nothing is decided, what we will do in the winter. We really have to see, we have time before then and we follow the market all the time, every day.
“There is no player in the world who scores a goal and we don’t know it. That’s how it is. If somebody makes a save, we know it. That’s the situation, that’s what will go on. It’s clear.
“All the rest, we are not involved in these things and that is okay. We have to focus on football and that’s what we will do."
He continued: "In the structure we had, obviously we were able to spend money but it was always that we had to look at what did we earn? We all know the two biggest transfers in the past - this year was Darwin, which was in between - were Alisson and Virgil (van Dijk). We all knew how it happened. We got money from Barcelona and spent it wisely I would say, so that is the situation.
"For me, how we did it so far brought us to where we are. That is all fine, but fresh money is no mistake, let me say it like this. Nothing gets cheaper. There is an inflation rate for all of us but in football as well.
"Yes, sometimes you have to spend. We are really happy to give all our young kids a chance and I am so positive about the impact they will have in the future, whenever that starts. Like Harvey Elliott now, Stefan Bajcetic, Cavlin Ramsay, Ben Doak, Bobby Clark.
“They are all interesting but from time to time you have to throw in proven quality. In an ideal world they are young as well! Or at least not 35. So yes, from time to time you have to take some risks and we will see.
“I have no idea what will happen, but I am positive about it. In the end if it is not positive, I can start worrying but I just think everything will be fine.”
Meanwhile, after beating Southampton, he said: “We are always open to these kinds of things but we don’t have to open this discussion now. If there is something possible, we will do it. If a door opens, we are open as well.
“It is not about wanting or whatever. Of course, we want to improve the team all the time, we just believe in the training ground as well and that we can do it there. We will see what happens.”
As a result, Liverpool’s January intentions remain unclear after Klopp’s open-ended answers, with the German carefully side-stepping such direct questioning to remain on the fence. Such uncertainty has perhaps not been aided by news earlier this month that FSG are actively searching for new shareholders and would be open to a full takeover at Anfield.
Granted, Klopp was never going divulge what transfer discussions have been held behind closed doors with Anfield bosses, but his admission that such decisions have not yet been made, and there is plenty of time still to make them, seems rather contrasting to the previous Reds narrative that their transfer windows are planned months in advance.
It’s known that, having revamped their attack in 2022, a midfield overhaul is planned in 2023. Whether such recruitment will commence in January, in the face of expiring contracts, ageing stars and injury-prone players, only time will tell.
Meanwhile, Liverpool have been strung horrifically by injuries during the first half of the season with as many as 20 first team players missing at least one match through an enforced absence. Even when the Reds beat Southampton, they were without Jordan Henderson (personal reasons), Ibrahima Konate, Curtis Jones and Calvin Ramsay, with Joel Matip and Naby Keita still sidelined and Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Arthur Melo all long-term absentees.
As things stand, Liverpool will be without at least Jota and Arthur when they return to club action next month, as they cross their fingers that none of their seven World Cup competitors will suffer any injuries in Qatar. The Reds responded to a midfield injury crisis when bringing in the Brazilian on loan from Juventus in the summer, but it remains to be seen if their hand will be forced once again.
The winter World Cup also admittedly won’t help matters as Liverpool continue to monitor the market, with valuations set to fluctuate depending on fortunes in Qatar. The unprecedented timing of the tournament has ultimately left sides in limbo, watching on from afar with interest in the meantime.
But this doesn’t mean the Reds will go into January blind, with no plan in place for what could be a chaotic month on the transfer front. After all, at least such discussions are currently being held, with only the final decisions still to be made.
They are known to be interested in Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham for example, with the Bundesliga club confirming they will hold talks with the midfielder regarding his future plans following his return from the World Cup.
“I think as soon as Qatar is over. We will have a general discussion about what he actually wants,” Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke recently confirmed to Bild . "With him, with his parents, with whom we have a very close relationship. And of course with his advisor.
“And then he should just tell us whether he wants to stay or whether he wants to leave. In both cases, we will have a very pleasant and reasonable discussion with each other.
"But we don’t have to pretend that the issue is not on the table. If the really big clubs are involved, then we can’t afford to have a fight financially.”
If and when Bellingham leaves Dortmund, Liverpool won’t be the only side interested in his services with the likes of Man City and Real Madrid also monitoring his situation. Should the 19-year-old be allowed to move in January, expect a fight for his signature.
The Reds have always been opportunists in the transfer market, as demonstrated by their signing of Luis Diaz from FC Porto last January. Liverpool had originally planned to move for the Colombian in the summer, only for Tottenham Hotspur’s own pursuit for the winger to force their hand.
In the end, Spurs ended up negotiating the price down for the Reds before they pounced and got their man six months ahead of schedule in a deal worth up to £49m.
Liverpool’s door will remain open to such opportunities, once again, as they continue to discuss transfer matters behind the scenes. And they are now free to spend the next six weeks discussing such matters further as they wait for the next competitive club games to come back around. Yet, with the World Cup set to get underway in Qatar, they also face also six weeks where football is out of their hands and plenty of things can change.
No wonder Klopp avoided offering any definitive answer, even if it is clear that the Reds’ squad needs strengthening - their first half of the season proves that. The German has at least admitted before that he'd like to take more risks in the transfer market though, with the Anfield door currently left ajar.
Yet that’s as far as things go at the current time with Klopp's cryptic, non-committal answers when asked publicly about the January transfer window ultimately giving little away. As a result, Liverpool have come across as cautiously hesitant, unable to tell transfer-hungry fans what they want to hear, but that couldn’t be further from the truth if the right opportunity comes up.
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