Up until the end of the transfer window, Liverpool may still throw some curveballs, and a last-minute Everton proposal could lay the groundwork for 2024.
In this transfer window, Liverpool has already sold its captain, and the club’s lone senior defensive midfielder is expected to follow suit. Nothing can be ruled out this summer, if that is one thing that has become clear.
As a result, even as some aspects of Liverpool’s transfer strategy for the remaining window start to take shape, a few wildcard options cannot be completely ruled out. Even Dominik Szoboszlai, who checks many of the typical recruitment boxes, came out of left field; there is still plenty of time for a few more twists and turns before the deadline.
The only thing that is currently a near-certainty is that Liverpool will sign a new midfielder. One more was already tentatively planned before both Jordan Henderson and Fabinho left, so it is now glaringly obvious that someone else needs to be hired.
Roméo Lavia seems to be the front-runner, and Liverpool and Southampton have been in negotiations for a while now (Daily Mail). Given his youth and one season of Premier League experience, the 19-year-old is himself somewhat of a wildcard, but he has evolved into the preferred choice.
It would be a slight surprise to see Liverpool pay for Lavia, but it would be even more surprising to see a deal approved anywhere near Crystal Palace’s asking price for Cheick Doucouré. But what if Liverpool doesn’t stop there in the midfield?
Doucouré is reportedly valued at $90 million (£70 million/€82 million) by the London club, according to The Mail. In contrast, Liverpool would receive almost half of that sum from the unforeseen sale of Fabinho; therefore, if FSG chooses him, the owners may be unusually eager to make the deal happen.
There are many factors working in Doucouré’s favor. Similar to Lavia, he has only played in one season of the Premier League, but by signing both players at once, Liverpool would lessen the risk of those bets. This would be a potent lineup going into the new season if Stefan Bajeti and others were included to share the load of Fabinho’s minutes.
While Doucouré and Lavia stand out as particularly strong Fabinho imitators, all three are excellent readers of the game. Although technically capable, they are happy to concentrate mainly on disrupting the play, stopping attacks, and then keeping things simple in possession.
With the addition of Lavia and Doucouré, Liverpool could logically declare victory in the midfield with Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, and Thiago, all of whom are very capable in the advanced number eight roles. Cody Gakpo has also been successfully trialed there.
The issue of defense must nonetheless be addressed.
Sincerely, it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see Liverpool postpone this phase of the rebuild until next summer, especially if it approves a significant expenditure on a player like Doucouré. On paper, that might make sense, but it runs the risk of happening again in the midfield, as it did last year.
Even if it means finding a stopgap until a sizable purchase is authorized next summer, Liverpool needs to improve the squad options in the back line. A 2024 push for the Croatian would be very alluring given that Manchester City has yet to complete a deal for Joko Gvardiol.
Liverpool, however, must make preparations if it intends to wait another year, regardless of the marquee name lined up. In essence, Jürgen Klopp needs to reenact the Arthur strategy, but this time it will be possible to do so without feeling rushed on the day of the deadline.
Due to this, Liverpool may end up signing a recent free agent from Everton, who is a true wildcard. Although Yerry Mina would undoubtedly catch everyone off guard, there are worse options.
Mina would not need to pay a transfer fee because Everton had already released the Colombian. A compromise “project” option with a high ceiling but a long way to go would not have him immediately prepared for Premier League action.
His elite goal threat is something else. The Colombian center-back ranks in the 99th percentile among center-backs in Europe’s top five leagues for both goals and expected goals per 90 minutes over the past year (FBref), a point that Klopp has been hammering home recently. In related news, he is dominant in the air, which is a big plus for Liverpool.
Because he is an outsider, Mina is a major problem. He and Doucouré could not both be registered unless there were additional outgoings, and Liverpool will not be unaware of the fact that the former Everton player has a similar profile to one Nat Phillips.
Phillips being kept around for yet another season seems absurd. In each of the most recent transfer windows, he appeared destined to move on, but setbacks like injuries and Liverpool’s perceived value prevented it. However, it’s possible that the current situation, which is homegrown, will be what keeps the 26-year-old on the books.
If Mina were signed, Klopp would also have to deal with his inconsistent injury history, which would be a major warning sign that the Arthur situation might be unintentionally repeated. This would be a truly wildcard conclusion, though, and one that might just keep Liverpool alive until 2024 in a summer where anything is possible.
