Liverpool should repeat Jurgen Klopp transfer masterstroke for star Xabi Alonso loves
The transfer window may be shut, but Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes will no doubt be keeping a watchful eye on potential targets.
The Scot’s first summer at the helm didn’t quite go to plan. His main target, Martin Zubimendi, elected to stay put rather than make the move to Anfield, and the pursuits of Anthony Gordon and Leny Yoro proved fruitless as well.
Giorgi Mamardashvili though will make the move to Merseyside next year after agreeing his transfer from Valencia, while Federico Chiesa’s $16.4m (£12.5m/€14.8m) switch from Juventus proved too good to turn down. The latter of those deals demonstrated perfectly the ‘opportunistic’ approach Hughes outlined in his first press conference with Arne Slot during the summer, and another opportunity may have just arisen for him.
Federico Chiesa gives Liverpool huge injury worry and he's not the only first team star
Trent Alexander-Arnold proves Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot are right about four-year England problem
Jonathan Tah is a name that may be familiar to Liverpool fans. The Bayer Leverkusen defender was linked previously with a move to Anfield during Jurgen Klopp’s reign, and his name is being touted once again.
According to German reporter Christian Falk (for Caught Offside), the Reds are ‘at the table’ for Tah, who looks set to be available for free next summer after revealing his plans to leave Leverkusen at the end of his current contract.
He told Süddeutsche Zeitung: “I’m not going to sign a new deal at Bayer Leverkusen. My decision is made. I will give my best until the end here and then we will see about my future club. But my decision is to go and try a different experience.”
His decision will be a big blow to former Red Xabi Alonso, who only a few months ago lauded Tah as “one of the world’s best defenders” (via the Express). Leverkusen’s loss though could prove to be Liverpool’s gain.
Following Hughes’ blueprint, you don’t get much more opportunistic than a free agent who could really bolster your back line. Klopp and Michael Edwards know all about that, having struck a similar deal all the way back in 2016 for Joel Matip.
A regular for Schalke before then, Matip was snapped up by Liverpool in February before completing his switch to Anfield a few months later. From there, he became one of the stalwarts of the Klopp era, helping the club conquer Europe, the world, and of course that long-awaited Premier League title.
At 28, and set to turn 29 before he leaves Leverkusen, Tah almost certainly would not be able to emulate the eight years of service that Matip gave Liverpool. With doubts over the future of Virgil van Dijk though, the Reds could be in need of an experienced head to come in and help lead Ibrahima Konate and Jarell Quansah.
Like Chiesa, Tah could well be an opportunity that Liverpool and Hughes simply cannot refuse. With just a few months before he’ll be available to negotiate with, it would certainly be worth the new sporting director taking a leaf out of Klopp and Edwards’ book.