Mac Allister and Jota should be back by New Year and Robbo is expected to be back after the winter break. It is possible that even Thiago comes back in January. Only long-term absentees are Matip and Doak (not sure about Bajčetić though). So we should be able to cope even if no new players are added.
Yes, ideally we could use a centre back or a proper no. 6, especially in Endo’s absence. But we all know it makes sense only if a long-term target becomes available. We will not just sign someone to fill the available places within the squad. So if the right player is available, the club had already demonstrated a few times they would get it done. If we do not get anyone in January, we can nevertheless cope with absences of Mo and Endo for that month.
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Well put.
I’m getting concerned about @GermanRed . He’s always been one of life’s worriers, but it seems to be getting worse lately. As well as the above, there was opening the Arsenal thread the moment yesterday’s game finished- I mean, I’ve heard of superstition, but that’s ridiculous.
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Which January? 2024, 2025 or 2026?
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Like I said - naive.
Should be fine at the back and in midfield - unless we’ll be hit with some more injuries.
But Salah at the Africa Cup will cost us the title 100%.
Yeah sure we can improvise. Use Elliott there. Use Szoboszlai there. Hope and pray that our unbalanced attack will miraculously will suddenly start to deliver regularly in those games.
The right thing to do is to bring in a player who is used to play on Salahs position. Even without him potentially leaving in the Summer I think after 6 or 7 years it’s finally time to have proper options there.
Jota, Diaz and Gakpo made an immediate impact when they came in in January. We have to try it again.
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I really hope Egypt are knocked out early.
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If we just cancelled all international football like I always say to do, then I wouldn’t have to hear the bi-annual panic about how the African Cup of Nations will destroy us.
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It shouldn’t be bi-annual, it should be every four years, like every other tournament.
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Are those the only 3 options? He’s pretty screwed then isn’t he… even putting a January 2026 time frame on it is being optimistic.
It should be never because it’s dogshit, like every international team tournament.
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I thought that, when I posted.
Well at the least I’m sure he’ll post something nice on twitter. That’ll surely be worth a contract extension.
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The last time Salah was at AFCON (not to mention Mane and Keita were there too) we had a 100% record in the league while progressing through both League Cup semis and two rounds of FA cup. We started our league winning run that enabled us to go toe to toe with Cheaty despite being around 10 points behind in January. True, we got Diaz, but he only made his league debut when Salah returned already.
I would say we have much better squad depth now. Two years ago, we only had Bobby and Jota as forward options (Divock was injured) and relied on Ox at the RW position. Now, Elliott and Szobo can play there, and so can Diaz and Jota, if required.
Sure, we could get a “proper” option at RW. But that would in my opinion signal that we are okay with losing Salah to Saudi in the summer and that the new guy is in fact his long-term replacement. Because I just cannot see us bringing in someone for a month and then be a back-up for the rest of his Liverpool career (like Shaqiri). That is just not how Klopp works - he just does not bring someone to the club to leave him on the bench forever (like City does with Philips).
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AFCON has been bi-annual since it was founded, 66 years ago. European clubs treating it like a nuisance and demanding the rest of the world bend to their calendars is just gross arrogance.
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Not quite; it was founded in 1957 but has been bi-annual since 1968.
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If there was such an urge for signing players in January because of AFCON’s, Asian Cups and what not for a few weeks, we wouldn’t have signed players participating at such tournaments in the first place.
Is it always tricky? Of course it is.
Did we prove a few times now that we found a way to keep performances at a high level and produce results? Yes we did.
I don’t expect any planned signings in January. Opportunistic like we did here and there over the years? Maybe.
If there’s another important injury like Matip’s and especially in defence, then that might change our thinking, like Klopp said.
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Agree…only way we but a RW in January is off Salah is off come summer AND an established target is somehow available.
Agree with most of what you say, except that I think we are seriously looking at a CB signing in January. We are very thin there considering Joe is clearly now a backup fullback option. Not sure he is considered a CB anymore. Too risky to not look hard at CB. Of course, a stop gap will not be signed….it’ll have to be a target high up on the list.
It is tricky to know who we might sign.
On the face of it, a central defender seems the highest priority, since Matip is out. And if we are going to the trouble of getting one, we should get the best we can, who can stake a claim to play now, and in time replace Van Dijk. No point getting someone to make up the numbers, because at that point we should make do with what we have.
Central midfield. I can’t decide if I want us to sign a better 6. I think there is more improvement to come with the players we have, as they learn to play together. So if we are signing a 6, they need to be world class. I think we will stick with what we have and the right blend will emerge.
Arguably we will sign a fullback, if we are seeing Trent as more of a midfielder. But then again, Joe Gomez looks really good out there, so it doesn’t seem like a need.
In the forward line I’d like to see us sign someone like Bakayoko with a view to thinking about life after Mo, whenever that comes.
It’s all a strange one, as I could make a case for a defender, midfielder and attacker, but I half suspect it is more likely we will sign nobody in January.
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