It is January 18, 2026, and the mood around Anfield is... weird. Honestly, it’s a mix of exhausted silence and low-level panic. If you’ve been refreshing your feed for Liverpool FC transfer news, you know the drill by now. Another day, another "monitoring the situation" report while Manchester City casually books a medical for the guy everyone thought was coming to Merseyside.
The draw against Burnley yesterday was the tipping point for a lot of people. Being held 1-1 at home by a newly promoted side while your title defense (if you can even call it that anymore) sits 14 points adrift of Arsenal is a tough pill to swallow. Arne Slot looks stressed. The fans are booing. And the recruitment team? Well, they’re "aligned." Whatever that means.
The Marc Guehi Mess and Why City Won
Let's talk about the elephant in the room: Marc Guehi. For months, it felt like a foregone conclusion. Liverpool had the deal virtually gift-wrapped in September, only for Crystal Palace to pull the plug at the eleventh hour. Fast forward to today, and Guehi is reportedly undergoing a medical—at Manchester City.
For a £30 million fee, it feels like a massive oversight. Especially when you consider the state of the Reds' backline.
- Conor Bradley is out for the season with a serious knee injury.
- Giovanni Leoni, the summer's bright young thing, hasn't played since September due to an ACL tear.
- Ibrahima Konate is effectively a free agent this summer as things stand.
- Virgil van Dijk isn't getting any younger and is entering the final year of his deal soon.
Losing Guehi to a direct rival for a relatively modest fee isn't just a missed opportunity; it’s a strategic failure. Slot hinted after the Burnley game that the club is aware of the "challenges," but awareness doesn't stop goals from going in at the Kop end.
Who is actually on the radar now?
With the Guehi ship having sailed, the names being thrown around for the summer are Nico Schlotterbeck and Alessandro Bastoni. These are elite, expensive options. Schlotterbeck, specifically, has been a name that won’t go away. The Borussia Dortmund man fits the profile, but waiting until June feels like a massive gamble when you’re currently struggling to keep clean sheets against the bottom half of the table.
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There’s also the weird Harry Wilson rumor. Yes, that Harry Wilson. He’s having the season of his life at Fulham—seven goals and four assists—and there’s talk of a "homecoming." It feels a bit like a "break glass in case of emergency" signing, doesn't it? He knows the club, he’s homegrown, and he’d be cheap. But is he the player to bridge a 14-point gap at the top? Probably not.
The $450 Million Hangover
People keep pointing to the summer spend to explain the current January paralysis. Liverpool dropped nearly half a billion pounds. Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak, Jeremie Frimpong—these are "Football Manager" levels of signings.
But here’s the thing: Isak is currently out for months with a horror ankle injury sustained at Spurs. Frimpong is basically playing as a winger because there’s no cover elsewhere. The squad is top-heavy and somehow simultaneously thin.
Basically, the club spent a fortune on the "fun" positions and forgot to fix the foundation.
The Salah/Slot Cold War
We have to mention the Mo Salah situation because it’s looming over every piece of Liverpool FC transfer news like a dark cloud. That public spat in November 2025 between Mo and Slot was ugly. They’ve "reconciled," sure, but the contract hasn't been signed.
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Salah is back from a disappointing AFCON run next week. If he returns and doesn't look like the player who dragged this team to a title last year, the calls for Antoine Semenyo or Rodrygo are going to get deafening. City already snatched Semenyo from Bournemouth for £62.5 million this month, by the way. Another one that got away.
The Contract Clock is Ticking
It isn't just Mo. The 2026 contract list is enough to give any sporting director a migraine.
- Ibrahima Konate: No movement.
- Andy Robertson: He’s 31, and while Milos Kerkez was brought in for £40m to be the successor, Robbo’s leadership is still vital. He's dropped hints that he's looking at his options.
- Trent Alexander-Arnold: This is the big one. He's at Real Madrid now. The wound is still fresh.
Losing Trent was the moment the "transition" became a "crisis." The fact that the club is now scrambling for defensive cover in January 2026 is a direct consequence of not having a clear plan for life after the local lad left for the Bernabeu.
What should Liverpool actually do?
Kinda feels like the club is paralyzed by their own "wait for the right player" philosophy. It worked under Klopp, but the margin for error is gone.
If they want to save this season—and Slot’s job, frankly, as the Xabi Alonso rumors are starting to swirl again—they need to move now. Waiting for Bastoni in July doesn't help you in the Champions League race in February.
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Actionable Insights for the Rest of the Window:
- Trigger a release clause: If a defender like Castello Lukeba or even Murillo at Forest is available, pay the premium. The cost of missing out on the Champions League far outweighs the "overpay" on a transfer fee.
- The Midfield Help: Ryan Gravenberch is carrying too much of the load. They need a "destroyer" type. Carlos Baleba at Brighton is the name everyone wants, but Brighton are notoriously difficult to deal with in January.
- The "Academy" stop-gap: We’ve seen Mor Talla Ndiaye arrive from Senegal, but he’s 18. He’s for the future. The first team needs a "now" player.
The January window closes on February 2. That gives Richard Hughes exactly two weeks to stop the bleeding. If the only Liverpool FC transfer news we see by then is a backup goalkeeper or another youth prospect, it’s going to be a very long, very loud spring at Anfield.
Keep an eye on the Schlotterbeck situation. If Dortmund shows even a crack of a door opening, Liverpool has to kick it down. Otherwise, they're just watching the rest of the Big Six get stronger while they "monitor" themselves right out of the top four.
Monitor the official Premier League registration lists and the upcoming pre-match press conferences for any "unseen" fitness issues that might force the club's hand before the February 2 deadline. Look for movement on the Ibrahima Konate contract extension as a bellwether for the club's internal stability; if that doesn't happen by February, expect a massive defensive overhaul to be the primary focus of the summer window.