Liverpool are currently in talks with nine clubs as the loan contracts of a host of loanees near their expiry, with the desire to extend them until the season’s end.
The unexpected suspension of the campaign has led to a delayed conclusion, with the Premier League for example due to come to a close in the final week of July.
By this point, loan deals would have usually ended, with the majority of agreements running to the end of June, as with player contracts.
But with games still to be played, the best-case scenario is for the Reds’ loanees to stay at their temporary clubs, as there is no scope to add the likes of Harry Wilson and Rhian Brewster to Jurgen Klopp‘s squad for the rest of 2019/20.
The Times report that Liverpool are negotiating loan extensions for those due to expire at the end of the month, with Wilson and Brewster “allowed to remain” with Bournemouth and Swansea respectively.
There will also be talks over deals for seven other players, including Marko Grujic, who has already returned to action with Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga, and Anderson Arroyo, whose campaign with Mlada Boreslav resumed last month.
Arroyo has made his first two appearances of the season since the Czech First League’s restart, coming off the bench in consecutive defeats to Slavia Praha and Viktoria Plzen.
Nat Phillips has also played for Stuttgart since the restart in 2.Bundesliga, as has Taiwo Awoniyi with Mainz in the top tier, while Kamil Grabara, Herbie Kane and Ovie Ejaria are gearing up to return to Championship action with Huddersfield, Hull and Reading.
Talks over Ejaria’s deal at the Madejski Stadium could be made more straightforward due to an agreement already in place for the 22-year-old to move on a permanent basis at the end of his loan; it may be that he now officially joins before the conclusion of 2019/20.
Liverpool will secure an initial fee of £3 million when he makes the switch, with a further £500,000 in performance-based add-ons, which serves to benefit all parties.
Five players have already seen their loan deals end, with Loris Karius, Sheyi Ojo, Isaac Christie-Davies, Rhys Williams and Dan Atherton all heading back to Merseyside for pre-season having seen their domestic leagues end prematurely.
Karius’ spell with Besiktas was terminated last month, despite the Turkish Super Lig being set to resume on June 12.
The only Liverpool loanee whose situation remains unclear is Ben Woodburn, with talks ongoing within the EFL over whether to continue with the League One campaign, in which Oxford United are currently sat third.
Like Phillips and Stuttgart, there is hope at Oxford that Woodburn will be permitted to stay with the U’s for another season, with manager Karl Robinson revealing there have already been “conversations” over a long-term extension.
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