Liverpool have been told to make a signing before the window closes – but a former target could have already solved a major problem.
Arne Slot spent £450m on transfers after winning the Premier League title but the Reds now sit sixth in the table.
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The defending champions are 14 points behind leaders Arsenal and, as things stand, will no longer be represented in next year’s Champions League.
The Reds are in the midst of an injury crisis, headlined by record signing Alexander Isak, who has suffered an ankle injury.
Giovanni Leoni suffered a cruciate ligament injury on his Debut for the club in Septemberwhile Conor Bradley is also out for the rest of this season.
Both Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez have been absent in recent weeks, with Jeremie Frimpong then lining up against Qarabag.
On potential signings before the deadline, Athletic’s James Pearce told The Pitch Prospect’s Inside Liverpool: “At the moment there is no sign of the club’s attitude changing.”
“I think some people thought at the beginning of the month that they were just keeping their cards secret when many of the reporters wrote about this patch that it was definitely going to be a quiet window.”
“They pointed to how much Liverpool had spent last summer and also the belief that the players Liverpool think they have are not available now, certainly not at the price they would be willing to pay.”
“Therefore, during the month they had to deal with the injury situation, which was obviously exacerbated by Ibrahima Konate’s compassionate leave following the loss of his father.”
“It’s just tightened the control, hasn’t it, especially, as you said, on the defensive options with five defenders now missing.
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“But I would be surprised just because I don’t think Liverpool are really going down the route of short-term solutions.”
“The last time they did this [Ozan Kabak and Ben Davies]That didn’t really work out well, did it? They got in on the action when they panicked with the approaching deadline and signed Arthur Melo on loan.
“It’s a nice idea to take someone out on loan, get a body, but he has to be good enough and the reality is that there aren’t many players of that caliber that clubs across Europe are willing to let go of at this point in time.”
“It is still possible for something to happen if, for example, a market opportunity opens up.”
Liverpool have previously been warned that a failure to gain a foothold in the transfer market in January risks derailing the season.
However, European football expert Andy Brassell told The Pitch Prospect.com that the club had already made a mistake by not signing Manu Kone.
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Kone moves to Liverpool
The 24-year-old was seen as Liverpool’s ideal alternative to Jude Bellingham in 2023 before Jurgen Klopp rebuilt his midfield.
In fact, Tony Cascarino even claimed that a transfer of the then top player from Borussia Mönchengladbach was almost a done deal.
Liverpool signed Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo instead when Kone moved to Roma a year later.
“Of course he had been linked with Liverpool before, when he was at Borussia Mönchengladbach, and a lot of people seemed to think it was a done deal at a certain point,” Brassell revealed to The Pitch Prospect.
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“When he left Mönchengladbach in the summer of 2024, he had a few options.
“Considering the first half of his first season at Roma was an absolute rubbish fire [Daniele] De Rossi was fired, Ivan Juric came in, and it was a total mess, and finally [Claudio] Ranieri brought a certain calm to the game and the fact that he emerged as a quality player and a real character this season was remarkable.
“He did it because he’s a mentally strong player. He’s so versatile, he’s incredibly athletic and he’ll run all day.”
“Funnily enough, a bit like Michael Olise when he came into the French team and Manu Kone, especially in the last Nations League season, where he was excellent by the way, again when things were still a bit tricky at Roma.”
“You feel like it wasn’t until he came into the team that you realized, ‘Oh, maybe France missed a guy like that.’
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“Now N’Golo Kante has been out of the game for a while, Adrian Rabiot has been transferred to a few clubs and he is getting older.”
“He’s a different player than both of them.” [Kante and Rabiot]and he has played a slightly more advanced role for Roma recently.
“Not an offensive player, but a little more box-to-box than just defense. He’s so good at driving a team up. He’s a good dribbler. He wants to be there, he makes a lot of tackles.”
Roma coach Gian Piero Gasperini admitted earlier this season that Kone would probably not play for the club if he scored more goals.
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How can Roma keep him? He is “so good”
“Really, if you’re a Roma fan, you want him to be a cornerstone of your team for the next eight to 10 years,” Brassell continued.
“But the reality is that Roma’s financial situation is not incredible. What does that really mean?
“That means if he goes to the World Cup and plays as well on many occasions for France as he has on many occasions, and if he consistently plays as well at Roma, how can they keep him?”
“I think that’s the relevant question. They bought him for just over 20 million euros. If he has a good World Cup, they can triple that.”
“I don’t think there’s any doubt about it because he’s so good. That would be really tough for Roma.”
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Liverpool transfer mistakes
Kone, who has two goals and one assist in 29 appearances, will have another chance to move to England this summer.
And Trans Europe Express co-host Brassell wouldn’t stop Liverpool from reviving their interest in him after missing out the first time around.
“I think he would have been a huge success for Liverpool,” he added to The Pitch Prospect.com. “Of course they may have used him a certain way, but we saw how Arne Slot made other players adapt.”
“On the other hand, it seems like they have been missing that bit of oomph in midfield this season, which is exactly what Manu Kone is all about.”
“If you ask if he would have been a good signing for them for £20m-25m, then that’s actually a no-brainer.”
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Liverpool want to rekindle interest in Kone
“He just got used to Serie A and got used to supporting the team as if it had always been there.”
“That kind of change and that kind of effort and that kind of commitment and stuff like that, deep in your head when everyone else around you is losing their ability, is what you would expect from a player who is eight to 10 years older than him and has a lot more experience in this league and at this club.”
“He would have been a huge success for Liverpool.
“I wouldn’t rule out Liverpool coming back for him. We know there are a lot of people in the building who like him.”
“At the end of the day, if you want to get promoted you need the best players, right? That’s clearly an area where Liverpool need help.”
Listen to the latest episode of The Pitch Prospect’s Inside Liverpool show on YouTube.