Liverpool wrapped up two last-minute deals on deadline day to finish off the January transfer window. Like most Premier League clubs, Liverpool had a quiet January, choosing to sit back and prepare for the summer.
The big news of Jürgen Klopp’s departure along with his staff and sporting director Jörg Schmadtke was the talk of the town in January. This also shifted the focus on transfers to the summer, when Klopp’s replacement will have a say on new signings.
It’s worth noting that Liverpool is currently leading the Premier League and is still competing in all four tournaments. With Andy Robertson back from injury, there wasn’t much need to strengthen Klopp’s team.
So, Liverpool decided to reshuffle its loan players, moving them between clubs. Nat Phillips was called back from Celtic and then sent to Cardiff; Fábio Carvalho returned from RB Leipzig to go to Hull; Calvin Ramsay came back from Preston to join Bolton, and James Balagizi was recalled from Wigan and sent to Kilmarnock.
Despite the general satisfaction, there was some action on deadline day involving Liverpool. In line with the above, Billy Koumetio moved to Blackburn on deadline day after being recalled from USL Dunkerque earlier in the window.
Rhys Williams’ loan to Port Vale was cut short just two weeks in due to an injury. The young defender will now be recovering at the AXA Training Centre.
Liverpool could have made a transfer on deadline day, but it didn’t agree with Nottingham Forest’s $19m (£15m/€18m) offer for Caoimhín Kelleher. It also turned down loan interest in Bobby Clark.
Even though Kelleher is second to Alisson Becker, he’s shown he’s a good replacement. The 25-year-old keeper has played 33 times for the first team, and 12 of those were this season, with Klopp picking him for the Europa League and Carabao Cup.
Klopp had lots of good things to say about Kelleher after he played in the Carabao Cup semi-final win over Fulham. “Caoimhín is a top, top, top, top goalie,” he said. “When Ali is fit, then he doesn’t have a lot of games. So, when I want to give him desperately the opportunity to play because it’s important for development then he’s on top of that. He’s always there, giving absolutely everything… but, either way, it’s the same.”
He’s not going anywhere yet as his contract lasts until June 2026. He is expected to play the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea.
Here are the deals Liverpool made in January:
Fábio Carvalho – Hull City, loan
Rhys Williams – Port Vale, loan (since returned)
Nat Phillips – Cardiff City, loan
Calvin Ramsay – Bolton, loan
Owen Beck – Dundee, loan
James Balagizi – Kilmarnock, loan
Billy Koumetio – Blackburn Rovers, loan
