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The January window is seen as a seller’s market and often a time for interim action, but Liverpool were forced to act.
Archive image of Ben Davies. AP
London: Liverpool finally beefed up their defensive options by signing Schalke’s Ozan Kabak and Preston’s Ben Davies before the Premier League transfer window slammed shut on Monday.
Meanwhile, Japanese attacking midfielder for the Premier League champions Takumi Minamino was loaned out to Southampton until the end of the season in one of the few moves between Premier League clubs on a quiet deadline day.
The January window is seen as a seller’s market and often a time for interim measures, but Liverpool were forced to act.
The champions are missing all of their senior central defenders, with Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip out of action.
Fabinho, who had impressed as a center-back after moving from his usual midfield position, recently joined the disabled list, while captain Jordan Henderson, who often plays in midfield, has been forced to replace the rear. .
Japan international Minamino left Anfield for Southampton in a surprise move that was allowed to complete after the window was closed because the Saints had submitted the necessary documentation on time.
“I am very happy to welcome Takumi to our team for the remainder of this season,” Southampton coach Ralph Hasenhuttl said in a club statement issued two hours after the 2300 GMT deadline.
“It will help provide another good attacking option and, more importantly, it is the right player profile for us.
“This will give us more depth in our team at an important time.”
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp had been suggesting for several weeks that a replacement center-back would be a huge boost for his team.
Klopp finally got his wish when the Reds added two defenders in the closing hours of the transfer window.
Kabak joined on loan until the end of the season, subject to international authorization.
The Premier League champions have paid an initial loan fee of £ 1 million ($ 1.37 million) with the option to buy for £ 18 million at the end of the season.
The 20-year-old arrives after two years in the Bundesliga, where he played for Stuttgart before joining Schalke in July 2019.
He previously gained experience in the Champions League at Galatasaray and has won seven games for Turkey.
Davies, 25, signed on for an initial fee believed to be £ 500,000, plus future add-ons.
Klopp admitted that signing a relatively unknown player from the second division was a forced move by the financial constraints of the pandemic and Liverpool’s injury problems.
“It’s probably clear that in a normal transfer window, without a hitch, we wouldn’t look at Preston if there’s a player for us,” he said.
“But since we saw it and our situation became more and more clear – the problems we had – when we saw it we got really excited and thought, ‘Wow.’ We see the quality and we see the potential.”
Davies made 145 appearances for Preston, scoring two goals, since his debut in 2013.
Low spend window
“Obviously it was a surprise when it first came out, but once you start to understand it, the opportunity that I have in front of me is incredible,” Davies said.
“I’ve never actually been to Anfield and I haven’t had a look yet.”
Major moves involving the Premier League’s “Big Six” clubs were few and far between in the January window.
Top-tier clubs, which spent money in the summer transfer window, are reeling from the financial consequences as a result of the COVID-19
crisis and are accepting the new Brexit rules that make it difficult to recruit young players from Europe.
The last time less than £ 100 million was spent in the January transfer window was in 2012.
Arsenal allowed Shkodran Mustafi to leave and the German defender signed a short-term contract at Schalke.
Gedson Fernandes ended his disappointing spell at Tottenham with the cancellation of the midfielder’s loan from Benfica in order to sign for Galatasaray.
West Bromwich Albion, threatened by relegation, signed Turkish midfielder Okay Yokuslu on loan from Celta de Vigo until the end of the season.
West Brom also reached an agreement with Arsenal to carry the versatile Ainsley Maitland-Niles on loan until the end of this period.
Ecuadorian international Moises Caicedo joined Brighton from Independiente del Valle for a fee of around £ 4 million.
Newcastle signed Arsenal midfielder Joe Willock on loan for the remainder of the season, while Magpies right-back DeAndre Yedlin joined Galatasaray on a permanent deal.
Fulham landed former Sunderland striker Josh Maja on loan from French Bordeaux.
Everton had hoped to sign Bournemouth forward Josh King in a late deal.
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