Liverpool have been left cursing Real Madrid in the transfer market on more than one occasion over the past 18 months.
When plotting their midfield revamp, Aurelien Tchouameni and Jude Bellingham were both on their radar in 2022 and 2023 respectively. And while their flailing fortunes last season, highlighting a need for more than just one marquee addition, contributed to missing out on the latter, both players still made it clear that they favoured a switch to the Bernabeu over Anfield.
The Reds completed a belated £150m overhaul of their engine-room in the summer regardless, snapping up Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo, and Ryan Gravenberch. With Jurgen Klopp’s side currently top of the Premier League table through to the League Cup semi-finals and Europa League round-of-16 as we head into 2024, club bosses can at least rest easy that they satisfactorily revamped their midfield despite having to identify new favoured targets.
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In the mid and long-term, there is an argument that such an overhaul is not yet complete. Question marks remain over Liverpool’s options at number six, despite Endo’s eye-catching performances in recent weeks, while the often injury-plagued Thiago Alcantara is out of contract next summer. The Japan international’s imminent departure to the Asian Cup next month will only heighten such scrutiny.
Yet with club sources last month distancing the club from the possibility of making a mid-season move for former target Andre Trindade, any further surgery is seemingly not a priority. Instead, the Reds’ defence is perhaps the
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