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What started as a promising link for a talented player turned into yet another transfer window disappointment, with Yevhen Konoplyanka's move to Liverpool falling through at some point over the final few hours of the window's final day. Leaving it that late always ran the risk of ending up empty-handed, but as details emerged, the reasons it happened became increasingly unclear. Further reports today have done little to clarify what exactly happened, with both clubs defending their respective actions and Brendan Rodgers hopefully rounding things off with his comments after the 1-1 draw at West Brom.
Ahead of kickoff, James Pearce from The Liverpool Echo tweeted the following:
#LFC officials have rubbished reports in Ukraine that the Konoplyanka deal collapsed because the transfer fee wasn't paid in time.
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceEcho) February 2, 2014
That was in response to comments from former Dnipro defender and current managing director Andriy Rusol, who placed the blame squarely at Liverpool's feet, stating that everything was set to go ahead on their end had Liverpool come in for the deal earlier.
All of this led to questioning post-match, as though the tired performance and two dropped points weren't enough for Brendan Rodgers to deal with.
"The only thing I will say is the football club done everything possible to get the player in, in every aspect: finance, we had the doctor out there, the chief scout, everyone. Categorically, Ian Ayre did a brilliant job negotiating. The money wasn't the problem. I feel really sorry for the player. He was desperate to come to one of the biggest clubs in the world. It just wasn't to be.
"It wouldn't stop us if we feel the player can improve us. We will review it again in the summer."
What seems clear now is that we won't really know whose version of the truth is closest to reality, and the outcome that Liverpool were hoping for wasn't achieved. If they get back to full health, though, Liverpool's squad can and will survive, and hopefully there's deals to be done come summertime.
