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Matip’s injury, coupled with long-term injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, explains why the club was so desperate to bring in players at all costs; And with the window now closed, his successful pursuit of Preston defender Ben Davies and young Schalke Ozan Kabak turned out to be the highlight.
They may not be the names you would normally associate with Liverpool’s well-planned transfer activity, but in strange times it is clear that new tactics are required; and Matip’s latest injury no doubt explains the intensity of Liverpool’s last minute work.
For Davies, a 25-year-old who has spent his entire career outside the top flight, it was a surreal move that seemed to come out of nowhere when Liverpool gasped at Celtic to sign him, even though the player was going to to be out. contract in June.
It cost less than 600,000 euros (although Liverpool could pay up to 1.5 million euros more in extras over time), which left many people stumped by the deal or enjoying the kind of fairy tale that only football can write. .
What attracted Liverpool was Davies’s strong left foot, his good passing disposition and his competitive mindset. But even the player and his new coach admitted that it was just unusual circumstances that gave him a break that he couldn’t even have dreamed of.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said: “What I like about Ben is that he shows that every situation creates opportunities. I think it’s probably clear that in a normal transfer window, without any problems, we would not look at Preston.”
“But since we saw him and since our situation became more and more clear, the problems we had, we got very excited and thought, ‘Wow’.” He is a boy who played all his life for Preston, he is just back from the corner. We see the quality and we also see the potential because he is 25 years old and there is a lot to come for him.
“I love his game. He is a really good footballer, he looks like a proper leader, he is good at challenges, he looks smart in football, he can play in different positions because he played in three defenses.”
Kabak may be a longer-term prospect, even if his Schalke side is last in the Bundesliga and is sending alarming goals this season. He is only 20 years old, has been on Liverpool’s radar before and comes on loan with a permanent deal worth up to 20 million euros in sight if all goes well.
Nor was it just the players coming to Anfield. Liverpool also agreed to loan Takumi Minamino to Southampton and sent young defender Sepp van den Berg to Preston.
What will further comfort the champions, who will play Brighton on Wednesday before a big title showdown in Manchester City on Sunday, is that none of their biggest rivals played a significant role in the deadline.
Arsenal, happy to have Martin Odegaard in the bag, focused on clearing the decks rather than bringing in players, and agreed to terminate Shkodran Mustafi’s contract so he could replace Kabak at Schalke. They also allowed Ainsley Maitland-Niles to move to West Brom on loan, with Joe Willock heading to Newcastle, having already left Mesut Ozil, of course.
Manchester United, who were lampooned for signing Odion Oghalo last January, were so sure it would be a quiet day this time that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told fans not to stay up late, and he he kept his word, while Manchester City and Chelsea were equally relaxed.
At Spurs, Dele Alli was in disgrace linked to Paris St Germain, but Tottenham blocked the deal, perhaps because Inter Milan refused to allow Christian Eriksen to return to London as Alli’s replacement.
Elsewhere, Everton and Fulham battled for Bournemouth forward Josh King, after both clubs reached a deal, with Everton winning in the last minute to get their man.
Brighton also had a good day announcing the arrival of the talented 19-year-old Moisés Caicedo from Ecuador’s Independiente del Valle on a four-and-a-half-year contract, one of the few permanent deals in a day dominated. for loan movements.
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