Previewing Liverpool’s 2018 January Transfer Deadline Day

After some false leads and non-starters in the middle of the month, it looks like Liverpool may end their January transfer window quietly. An attempt to bring Naby Keita to Anfield early was rebuffed and Thomas Lemar looks to be finishing out the season in Monaco. While there may be some surprises on the horizon, they’d have to be big secrets, because not so much as a whisper about any potential incoming players has come out of the usual reliable sources.

While the window appears on its way to sliding softly shut, it certainly didn’t open that way. It feels like ages ago now, but at the end of December, the club announced that they were breaking their transfer record and finally nabbing number one target Virgil van Dijk from Southampton for a whopping £75m. By January 1st, the big defender was posing for pictures at Melwood.

After that, Liverpool had to deal with some less cheerful news as Philippe Coutinho pushed through his move to Barcelona a week after the ink dried on Van Dijk’s new Liverpool contract. The move is putting £142m in the club’s coffers over the next several years. Fans hoping that this cash would be immediately spent on replacement for the star midfielder in January look set to be disappointed.

Klopp and the club seemed keen on Thomas Lemar, but Monaco have just declared the player staying with them for the remainder of the season. If Liverpool do put in a last minute bid, it may be for the likes of Riyad Mahrez at Leicester City.

The other big news of Liverpool’s January transfer dealings was a loan move for fan favorite (at least this fan’s favorite) striker Daniel Sturridge. The injury-stricken attacker will play out the rest of the season with West Bromwich Albion after falling down the pecking order at Anfield. While West Brom may not end up being Sturridge’s permanent home, it’s likely he’s played his last game for Liverpool.

There was some movement in the Liverpool academy this month with Connor Randall headed to Heart of Midlothian, Ryan Kent off to Bristol City, Matthew Virtue-Thick to Notts County, Corey Whelan to Yeovil Town, and Andrew Firth to Chester FC.

Marko Grujic also moved out on loan, committing the rest of his season to Cardiff City.

Still to come may be poor Lazar Markovic finding his forever home at Swansea City, if rumors are to be believed. The bid is said to be set for £15M - a tidy sum for the club if it works out.

Academy starlet Ovie Ejaria may also be on his way to a loan move to Sunderland to finish out the season.

That’s where things stand at the moment, but how will they turn out? Watch The Liverpool Offside for every single crumb of information as our staff works non-stop to keep you updated on all the news.