What Awaits Reds On Transfer Deadline Day?

That time of year is upon us again, it’s Jim White Appreciati… sorry, I mean Transfer Deadline Day and in things are no doubt going to get very, very messy in the next 12 hours.

In the lead-up to you reading this article, there have no doubt been several deals take place already.  Some of these may have been in the works for months, other weeks and many are no doubt last-minute, knee-jerk reactions to recent injuries or gaps that have opened up due to drops in form or players being sold on.

The following 11 hours will be a panic-buys, shrewd business and drinking games.  If we’re all honest, who would miss it for the world? Apart from the football, it’s what makes January interesting.

For Liverpool it means either elation or disappointment. There has rarely been a grey area for Liverpool when it comes to the January window, with the likes of Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho all signed during the Winter window.

On the other hand, we’ve also had our fair share of Andy Carrolls so there is usually as much trepidation as anything when we go hand-in-hand toward the 11 o’clock deadline.

As evening approached on Thursday, Spurs had seemingly dropped out of the race for Yevhen Konoplyanka with Liverpool upping their bid and wages offer to the Ukrainian star but you can never say never where Spur’s poaching of Liverpool targets are concerned but I imagine 26 wingers is enough even for them.

Of course, it’s possible – and I hope it’s already happened – that Konoplyanka has already signed but that is one deal that, if not done already, is likely to be the Reds main focus on deadline day.

The area most in need however will hopefully be covered also and we’ll see a defensive midfielder of some description before Saturday, with both Yann M’Vila and Nigel De Jong both names mentioned in the past couple of weeks.

At the moment M’Vila would be the more long-term option but De Jong is probably the more desirable target and would seemingly be available on loan, having had Premier League experience with Manchester City would mean he should be able to slip right into the first-team without any ‘acclimatizing’ required at all.

Whatever happens, Liverpool will hopefully make a few good signings and we can look forward to the next 4 months and Champions League qualification (at the least) and who knows, maybe the right signings could push us even further?