It’s been a quiet transfer window for Liverpool with the need to carefully balance their squad, but two players readily linked with a move can now be discounted this summer.
Ibrahima Konate remains the Reds’ only addition despite a desire for reinforcement in both the midfield and the attack.
“We cannot just add on players to this squad and say, ‘now let’s have a look how that works’,” Jurgen Klopp said of the situation last week.
“You have to deal with the squad for the whole year, if someone leaves then we have to think do we have to replace them?”
But Leicester‘s Harvey Barnes and Lille’s Renato Sanches will not be considered in that eventuality with the pair now definite no go zones for any transfer following various links tying the Reds to the duo.
Liverpool were reported to have “concrete interest” in Barnes but no formal offer ever arrived for the 23-year-old, who has now signed a new four-year contract with the Foxes.
A graduate of Leicester‘s academy, Barnes was a standout performer in the Premier League last season before sustaining a season-ending knee injury, with it no surprise that he caught Liverpool’s eye.
The wide midfielder has an eye for goal, 13 in 35 appearances last season, and with an aggressive front-foot approach he would certainly suit Klopp’s system.
But his new contract that runs until 2025 will deter further approaches with a large price tag now to be on his head for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, links with Sanches saw Liverpool credited as keen admirers with Lille’s financial circumstances opening the door for a possible transfer.
Impressing with Portugal at Euro 2020, Sanches was named among a five-man shortlist of potential midfield signings but his injury record took another hit this summer having required surgery on a knee injury.
The latest setback ensures any transfer speculation came to a swift end with a stint on the sidelines expected to be at least six weeks, ruling him out of action until the end of September at the earliest.
A new contract and a fresh injury, therefore, ensure Barnes and Sanches are no longer possible for the summer transfer window, of which there are now just 12 days remaining.
Activity remains quiet for Liverpool as the need to balance the squad in relation to finances and the homegrown quota makes it a carefully balanced operation.
But the reported line has long been that exits for both Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri will likely open the door for another addition to the squad, and a final fee is all that looks to separate the No. 23 moving to Lyon.
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