When it comes to recruitment, not many did better than Liverpool in the Premier League over the summer. The Reds initially looked set to face a midfield crisis following the exits of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to add to the departures of Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner. However, the arrivals of Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch quickly put an end to any of their concerns. And since then, Jurgen Klopp's side have been back to their best.
Now, with January approaching, the Reds could move to complete their midfield rebuild in the form of a defensive midfielder. However, Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth believes that they may face a stumbling block for one particular player.
Liverpool transfer news
Sitting provisionally top of the Premier League, before Arsenal potentially regain their place by winning their game in hand, Liverpool have bounced back from the disappointment of missing out on the top four last season in style, but they are still after another midfielder.
Kalvin Phillips
19th December
Khephren Thuram
15th December
Joao Palhinha
10th December
Piotr Zielinski
2nd December
Joao Neves
29th November
At the halfway mark, Klopp's men have a serious claim that this could be their year once again, especially with Manchester City uncharacteristically faltering at times. Given their place in the title race, the January transfer window could make all the difference.
Klopp could land Endo upgrade in Liverpool swoop for £51k-p/w "colossus"
The Reds were touted with a possible move for the midfielder over the summer.
ByDan EmeryDec 28, 2023
Sheth addressed the "noises" surrounding the Reds and Kalvin Phillips. He told GiveMeSport that Manchester City may not facilitate a move to Liverpool for Phillips.
"Maybe it's best for everyone, especially Kalvin Phillips if a move can happen. But he would probably want to go to one of the big six clubs, and I just wonder whether Manchester City would want to do business with what is perceived to be a rival.
"We saw in the summer before last that they were more than happy to allow Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to go to Arsenal, but they ended up being the main rivals to Manchester City for the title. We've been hearing noises about teams like Liverpool and other clubs being interested in Kalvin Phillips. I wonder whether they would really facilitate a move to a rival. I think, at this moment in time, Kalvin Phillips will probably just want to play football."
"Excellent" Phillips in desperate need of City exit
Liverpool have proved in the form of Endo this season how they can turn a player into a vital cog in Klopp's machine. And Phillips could have a similar impact if City sanctioned the move. Unlikely to allow the England international to choose Anfield, however, the former Leeds United man may need to look elsewhere for minutes next month.
At his best, Phillips is a player who has earned plenty of praise, including from Gareth Southgate. The England boss said:
“He’s been excellent. The way he has taken to international football, it hasn’t surprised us because what we’d seen with Leeds, even in the Championship, we felt could convert into our team. We felt he could play an important role with us. To play in the enormity of the matches he did in the summer and play as well as he did is massive credit to him. He’s a very, very good player and he’s been a really important part of this – we’re 16 games unbeaten [in regulation time] now and he’s been a huge part of that.”