Before deadline day, a number of players, including Bobby Clark and Sepp van den Berg, could be leaving Liverpool. Liverpool is now starting to step up their transfer activities as deadline day draws near.
Richard Hughes and his staff have been hard at work securing lucrative moves away from Anfield for some of the club’s young players, even though the Reds are still the only team in Europe’s top five leagues that haven’t added to their roster this summer.
Bobby Clark, a midfielder, is the most recent player to announce his departure after moving to Red Bull Salzburg for £10 million. The 19-year-old, who paid £1.5 million to join Liverpool from Newcastle United in 2021, is expected to see Pep Lijnders again in Austria. It is believed that Lijnders had a key role in facilitating the transfer.
In addition to obtaining a substantial transfer fee for Clark, Liverpool mediated a matching rights agreement and a 17.5% sell-on clause in the event that the 19-year-old decides to leave Salzburg. His departure follows last week’s departure of Merseyside’s Fabio Carvalho, who joined Brentford for a possible £27.5 million transfer price.
Although certain sections of the Reds’ supporters may have been taken aback by this seeming purge of marginal players, the money made from Clark and Carvalho’s exits may help the team in the long run by adding to Liverpool’s transfer fund. The two players mentioned above are not the only ones who might look for new opportunities this summer; a number of other players on Arne Slot’s team are also anticipated to depart before the deadline on Friday.
Sepp van den Berg, who left Eredivisie club PEC Zwolle for Liverpool in 2019 for a fee of £4.4 million, has joined Carvalho at Brentford. The west London team has reached an agreement to recruit the defender for a total of £25 million, including £5 million in add-ons. German champions Bayer Leverkusen had also expressed interest in Van den Berg after he performed well while on loan at Mainz last season.
Considering that he has never played for Liverpool in the Premier League, the cost is astounding.
In other news, Portsmouth is getting close to signing forward Harvey Blair on a long-term contract after agreeing to pay the Reds £300k for the 20-year-old.
Blair has only one year left on his contract and has mostly played academy football throughout his time on Merseyside, so it’s a decent deal for all parties, even though his fee is small compared to the sums being rumoured for some of his teammates.
Joe Gomez, on the other end of the experience spectrum, is still considering his alternatives in case he decides to leave Liverpool before August 30. Earlier in the transfer season, the Reds had agreed to sell the defender to Newcastle for £45 million as part of a package that would have seen Anthony Gordon go to Newcastle for £75 million.
Gomez’s future is still uncertain despite the failed trade; last weekend, Liverpool’s Premier League opener against Ipswich Town saw the England international left off of the matchday squad. The Reds have maintained that he is still an important member of the team at the AXA Training Centre and that Brentford may choose to visit on Sunday. However, if he were to depart this summer, the club would undoubtedly receive a significant financial boost.
Nat Phillips and Tyler Morton are two players that are very likely to depart on a permanent basis during the course of the upcoming week. While Phillips has drawn interest from Turkey and the Championship this summer, Morton, who is valued at £20 million, has impressed during consecutive loans with Championship teams Blackburn Rovers and Hull City.
Many other young players are anticipated to go on loan, yet if the right offers come up, Liverpool might be persuaded to consent to permanent contracts. Ben Doak, valued at £10 million, and left-back Owen Beck have been linked to long-term departures from Anfield, while Kaide Gordon, James McConnell, Calum Scanlon, and Marcelo Pitaluga are all predicted to make short-term exits.
Stefan Bajcetic, who excelled for the first team in 2021–2022, may be one of the more surprising names connected to a loan move this summer. Unfortunately, he was sidelined for a large portion of the previous campaign due to injury. It would be wise to retain the 19-year-old around given that Liverpool hasn’t added a defensive midfielder since Martin Zubimendi’s transfer from Real Sociedad fell through, even though after missing so much action, he might benefit from regular playing time.
Wataru Endo, who was the target of a £11.8 million bid from Marseille earlier in the summer, might also be a surprise late departure. Even if it doesn’t appear likely that the Japan international will be permitted to leave Merseyside right now, things might change if Liverpool makes a move to get a No. 6 before next Friday.
Many Liverpool fans will be hoping to get their first glimpse of the impact the club’s new signings can make as preseason for the club begins in earnest.
Doak, who was a key member of the first-team squad at the age of just 17 last season, will look to improve once more this time around in order to secure more senior appearances.
