Liverpool could bring yet another loanee back to the club this month, according to reports in France, after his omission from recent training sessions.
The club have been busy this month in recalling Fabio Carvalho, Owen Beck, Rhys Williams and James Balagizi, while four players have since left on new loans.
Carvalho has joined Hull City following the end of his stay at RB Leipzig, while Marcelo Pitaluga (St Patrick’s Athletic), Luke Chambers (Wigan) and Vitezslav Jaros (Sturm Graz) have also departed.
Nat Phillips is back at the club after his terms with Celtic expired, while This Is Anfield understands talks are ongoing over the early return of Calvin Ramsay from Preston.
Beyond that, it is claimed that Billy Koumetio could also be brought back from Ligue 2 side USL Dunkerque, having already left training.
That is according to French publication La Voix Du Nord, who claim that the 21-year-old is expected to see his loan terminated, with his absence from recent sessions a surprise twist.
Koumetio started the club’s final game before the winter break in the French second tier, playing the full 90 minutes at left-back in a 2-0 loss to Bordeaux last month.
But he was not involved at all in the 3-2 win over Saint-Omer in the Coupe de France last week, with suggestion being that he has now played the last of his nine games for Dunkerque.
The Frenchman is said to have “disappointed” in his outings for a side who sit 19th in the league, after “not showing the defensive authority hoped for.”
He was sent off on his debut in September, and it wasn’t until the end of October that he made his next appearance.
Neither Dunkerque nor Liverpool have confirmed Koumetio’s recall yet, though he is seemingly no longer required in training.
It is unclear how Koumetio’s parent club would proceed if he does return, with the likelihood being that another loan is sought.
Liverpool were left without a centre-back on the bench in the FA Cup third-round win over Arsenal earlier this month, but Koumetio would not be in line to fill that void.
There is no pathway for him into Jurgen Klopp‘s senior squad, with Jarell Quansah promoted alongside the current crop of Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and the injured Joel Matip.
Klopp has already confirmed that Williams would not be considered for first-team contention, instead rejoining the U21s, while Phillips has been left out of the last two matchday squads despite training.
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