Arne Slot has taken over from Jurgen Klopp to lead Liverpool. The Dutchman, who took a big chance with Feyenoord, is building a style of play that incorporates his preferred possession-oriented football as well as fast, vertical football.
He is keen to secure a defensive midfielder who can play at the bottom of midfield, which is a key part of this style of play, and he is continuously asking the team for reinforcements in this position.
According to Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, Liverpool are increasingly likely to add a new midfielder this winter.
“Arne Slot wanted a defensive midfielder throughout the summer transfer window, but the Premier League giants were unable to secure one.”
“Liverpool did come close to signing Martin Zumbimendi, but he ended up turning down the move to stay at Real Sociedad after the Premier League giants had agreed to pay his release clause of £51.3million.”
“There were no other names cropping up towards the end of the market, so Liverpool have opted to wait and assess the situation in January.”
“The Reds want to see what options become available, but Slot does want someone in to complement his midfield options.”
Various names of targets, such as Porto midfielder Alan Varela, Atalanta midfielder Ederson and Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder João Gomes, have hit the media and it continues to be difficult to tell which are true and which are false.
It is also possible that Liverpool could land a player who had not even been reported before, such as Wataru Endo, so keep an eye on Liverpool’s moves over the next six months after a quiet summer.