With the January transfer deadline fast approaching, there come dubious claims that Liverpool are exploring loan deals with the likes of PSG.
The transfer window is set to close in England at 11pm on Tuesday, with Liverpool unlikely to conduct any high-profile business beyond an exit for Nat Phillips.
Phillips is attracting interest from Galatasaray, along with clubs in the Bundesliga, and could either be sold or loaned out following the return of Rhys Williams from Blackpool.
Any other transfers are likely to be academy loans, with Luke Chambers, James Norris, Layton Stewart and Liam Hughes among those who could depart.
The expectation is, though, that Cody Gakpo will be the only new arrival at Anfield this month.
Of course, things could still change, but when speaking on the subject on Sunday, Jurgen Klopp declared: “Nothing will happen in this transfer window.”
One rumour to ignore in these final hours comes from the Mail‘s prolific Simon Jones, who claims that Liverpool are “assessing the squads of top European sides” to “see if there are any temporary deals they can do.”
Specifically, Jones suggests Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid and Juventus as hunting grounds, with a loan sought to “add to their numbers in midfield.”
This should in no way be taken as fact, both despite and because of the deadline-day deal to bring in Arthur on a season-long loan from Juventus in the summer.
That signing, along with that of Ozan Kabak from Schalke at the end of the winter window in 2021, shows that Liverpool are not averse to using the loan market.
But the suggestion that the club is looking for further additions from PSG, Atletico and especially Juventus is baseless.
No source is credited within Jones’ story, which is a regular occurrence on the Mail‘s website.
In fact, the information on potential loan deals comes from a previous piece from the same outlet that linked Liverpool with Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie.
That ignores the blatant fact that the Reds cannot sign two players on loan from any one club, as per the Premier League handbook.
With Arthur already on the books, Liverpool cannot agree any further temporary deals with Juventus.
Of course, that does not rule out a loan from either PSG or Atletico, but this can be further discredited by the suggestion that Klopp would look to add “numbers” to his midfield.
Even with Arthur and Fabio Carvalho currently sidelined, Klopp’s midfield is packed in terms of numbers, with Thiago, Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita, James Milner, Harvey Elliott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Stefan Bajcetic all available.
Sure, they may not be to every fan’s taste when it comes to quality – but there is no way Liverpool will be making another loan signing to simply bolster that group.
That isn’t to say that Renato Sanchez, Fabian Ruiz or Thomas Lemar wouldn’t be useful additions in the future, though…
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