LFC TRANSFER NEWS LIVE : Liverpool take huge step in Kylian Mbappe move

Liverpool take huge step in Kylian Mbappe move

Liverpool have been labelled as the “most credible and dangerous candidate” to sign Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe this year.

According to French outlet Le Parisien, Jurgen Klopp wants to complete his nine-year pursuit of the striker amid ongoing uncertainty over Mohamed Salah’s future.

Real Madrid, however, remain favourites to sign the forward.

OPINIONI want Liverpool to sign one player in January and he may be enough to win Jürgen Klopp a treble

Liverpool only needs one transfer in January to potentially catapult Jürgen Klopp toward a treble or a quadruple. The Reds could really do with finding someone.

Christmas has passed and the new year is nearly upon us. And for Liverpool, there is a real chance of glory in 2024. Top of the table at the halfway point in the Premier League season, there are three more pieces of silverware still up for grabs on top of that as well.

Few people would have anticipated that Liverpool would be as advanced in its rebuilding phase at this point, and even fewer would have dared suggest that Manchester City would have dropped as many points as it has. For a combination of those two factors, Jürgen Klopp’s side finds itself right in the middle of a title race.

While it is possible, as always, that Manchester City could go on a lengthy winning run, it simultaneously feels slightly unlikely that Pep Guardiola’s side will be quite so formidable this time around. You can never rule it out, but a closer-run race to the finish line feels realistic, with Arsenal in with a good shout as well.

But if fine margins are to make all the difference, then Liverpool needs to consider a January transfer. Even though Wataru Endō is heading off to AFCON, Alexis Mac Allister being back should be enough to cover for the Japanese. That means that a midfielder is not the immediate priority.

If a truly elite holding player came onto the market, Liverpool should pounce, but the chances of that happening mid-season feel slim. That would be something to consider if the right chance happened to emerge.

More importantly, however, Liverpool needs to do everything that it can to find a suitable candidate in its defense. Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas are both out injured and while both will play again this season — Robertson perhaps even before the end of next month — there is a need for another left-sided defender to be signed in 2024 regardless. You might as well try and do it now.

Liverpool needs to bring in a player who can operate on the left side of its center-back duo, covering for Virgil van Dijk and offering another option at full-back too. Joe Gomez can play all across the back line, but not all at once. He is going to have to play every game at left-back for the next few weeks at least, leaving the other positions looking very thin in terms of options.

Joël Matip

out of contract at the end of the season and Van Dijk now 32, Liverpool needs to consider what the future looks like at the back sooner rather than later. And making that signing to bolster a defense that is looking threadbare could be vital.

Klopp has already made the argument that signing the ideal player in the winter transfer window can be tricky. But Liverpool is in a position that it probably didn’t think it would be — and one that should be capitalized on.

If signing a left-sided defender is a priority for Liverpool in the long term, and in the short term it could help Klopp win another Premier League title and perhaps one or two other trophies as well (the Reds are the favorites to win both the Carabao Cup and the Europa League), it really should be a no-brainer. Plenty of names will be linked, but just one transfer could make all the difference and avoid Liverpool looking back and wondering ‘what if?’.

The January transfer window will open in just a few hours. When midnight comes in the UK (4pm on the west coast of the US and 7pm on the east coast), Premier League sides will be officially able to make more transfers.

Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp went out of his way to explain why that was unlikely at the start of the month, though Kostas Tsimikas has since been struck down with a broken collarbone. That leaves a lot of work for Joe Gomez to get through at left-back, and Jarell Quansah as the only covering player in the center for Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté

Lloyd Kelly is another that Klopp has looked at in the past. Now at Bournemouth, the left-sided defender has never hit the heights that would be required to make him a real long-term target for Liverpool. Tosin Adarabioyo at Fulham, also out of contract, fits into the same boat.

Neither are available to negotiate a free transfer with just yet as they are both with other Premier League sides. But could either be useful as cheap options in January to add some more depth at the back? There have been worse ideas put forward.

Boca Juniors wonderkid Valentín Barco is out of contract in 2024, but not until December, so no one can negotiate with him just yet. Brighton, Manchester City and Liverpool, according to Goal, are all taking a look at the young Argentina left-back.

Johan Bakayoko (PSV)

Liverpool signed a forward from Dutch side PSV last winter and the Reds are being linked with another this time around. Cody Gakpo made the switch to Anfield in 2023 and Johan Bakayoko is tipped to be a transfer option in 2024.

The 20-year-old has scored four times and assisted 13 goals so far this season. Italian journalist Rudy Galetti has reported on X/Twitter

Liverpool have expressed admiration for a €40m-rated attacker who has recorded 13 assists this season.

PSV Eindhoven winger Johan Bakayoko is the player in question and he has caught the attention of Liverpool as a potential target.

However, they may face competition from Tottenham Hotspur for his signature.

Bakayoko, a 20-year-old Belgian winger, is highly regarded in Europe and has the potential to become a top-class attacker in the future.

With four goals and 13 assists across all competitions this season, he has showcased his abilities.

Liverpool could view him as a long-term replacement for Mohamed Salah, although it is unlikely that PSV will allow his departure mid-season.

Liverpool’s immediate focus should be on signing a defensive midfielder and a central defender, rather than a winger. Nevertheless, Bakayoko could be a valuable investment for Liverpool as they plan for a future without Salah. If Salah does not sign a contract extension, Liverpool may consider selling him in the summer to avoid losing him on a free transfer.

In such a scenario, selling Salah for a substantial fee would be a sensible decision for Liverpool.

EDGE Liverpool have a chance at signing Mbappe according

Liverpool have a good chance at signing Kylian Mbappe this summer, according to a journalist from L’Equipe.

L’Équipe journalist Loic Tanzi believes Liverpool ‘have a chance’ at signing Kylian Mbappe if Real Madrid pull out of race
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LiverpoolParis Saint-GermainKylian Mbappe