Liverpool completed late January acquisitions of a £23 million legend and World Cup champion.

With the January transfer market being quiet, this is probably Jurgen Klopp’s final opportunity to add players before he steps down as manager at the end of the campaign.

Over the previous 20 years, Liverpool has had notably mixed outcomes from the January transfer window.

The Reds have only made one or two signings in recent seasons, usually in order to outbid competitors and acquire their top targets. Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo experienced the same thing, as Jurgen Klopp brought them in six months ahead of schedule.

However, things weren’t always that way; prior to Klopp’s arrival in 2015, Liverpool’s approach resulted in both hits and misses. That being said, some of the greatest players of today were signed in the winter.

The true highlights are the transfers that Klopp has made, even though it is unlikely that the German manager would add any more players before leaving in the summer. Mirror Football examines a few of Liverpool’s previous January windows in this article.

2007: Javier Mascherano and Alvaro Arbeloa

Alvaro Arbeloa and Javier Mascherano brought two talents to Anfield in January 2007. Rafael Benitez became interested in the former after he played for Deportivo la Coruna, and he signed for an incredible £2.6 million.

The full-back led the team to the 2007 Champions League final, showing that he was a wise investment right away. Though his time there was only brief, in 2009 he moved to Real Madrid, where he would go on to win two Copa del Rey, La Liga, and the World Cup with Spain.

Javier Mascherano also arrived during that window; he signed a £20 million contract with West Ham. FIFA and the Premier League had to approve his first loan, and he needed to have special authorization in order to play for the Reds.

That was acknowledged by February, though, as the Argentine’s reputation as the best midfield enforcer in the Premier League rapidly grew. After being traded to Barcelona in 2010, Masherano went on to win every award possible while playing for the dominant La Liga team.

2011: Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll

2011 is the best window to illustrate Liverpool’s prior confused approach to the transfer market. On the same day that the Reds acquired Andy Carroll for £35 million from Newcastle, Luis Suarez was signed for £23 million.

After netting 82 goals in 133 games and nearly leading Brendan Rodgers’ team to victory in the 2013–14 campaign, Suarez would go on to become a modern-day legend for the Reds. One of the greatest attackers to play for Liverpool in history, he would transfer for £74 million to Barcelona in 2014.

He went on to be regarded as one of the greatest attackers in the world until he assisted Atletico Madrid in winning La Liga in 2021. Carroll was an utter failure, while Suarez was a huge success.

Carroll did not perform well even though he was more expensive than Suarez and hence the most expensive British football player ever. That March, he was unable to make his debut, which began a poor run of games at Anfield.

The striker’s one notable moment was in the 2012 FA Cup final against Everton when he scored a late winner. However, Carroll moved to West Ham in 2012 after the move ultimately proved to be a fiasco.

2021: Ozan Kabak and Ben Davies

Ten years after Carroll and Suarez joined, Liverpool had one of their most confusing deadline days ever. Due to an injury situation, Klopp required additional centre backs.

As time was running out, he chose Ozan Kabak of Schalke and Preston’s Ben Davies. Despite being signed for £2 million, Davies never played for the Reds and instead moved on loan to Sheffield United.

Kabak, who was brought in on loan from Bundesliga struggling team Schalke, followed in Davies’ footsteps. His brief tenure at Anfield was marred by a terrible start against Leicester, and at the end of that season, he was sent to Germany.