5 Transfer Targets for Liverpool in January

Ben White was subject of a lot of transfer interest in the summer, following an impressive loan spell in the Championship with Leeds United last season, which saw the 23-year-old win promotion with the Yorkshire side as champions.

So far this season, the Seagulls have struggled to get wins on the board, having done so just twice in 15 Premier League outings, keeping just three clean sheets. The Poole born defender does have promising statistics though, as he averages 1.9 tackles and 1.7 interceptions per game, as well as 1.5 clearances with no errors leading to a goal. An area which the Englishman does struggle in is his tackle success rate with 57% of his challenges being won, but does fit into Liverpool’s style of having strong ball-playing centre-backs. In the summer White was quoted to be available for £40m, and after proving that he is of Premier League quality, as well as the fact that he is young and could develop as a potential centre back partner for the likes of Virgil Van Dijk, it would make sense for Liverpool to pay the money, especially due to the fact that Joe Gomez alike Van Dijk has a long-term injury, as well as Joel Matip constantly being hampered by injuries.

White is priced at 7/1 to leave the Amex Stadium for Anfield this January.

Following the recent news that Liverpool are struggling to agree on a deal with Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum over a new contract, amid interest from Barcelona., the Reds have been linked with a move for Lille’s Portuguese midfielder Renato Sanches.

Sanches who joined Lille at the start of the 2019/20 season from Bayern Munich has had a really good spell in France, featuring in last season’s Ligue 1 Team of the Season having helped Lille get second place in the league, confirming UEFA Champions League qualification for his side. Sanches plays a very similar role to that of Wijnaldum, being a box-to-box midfielder, but with more emphasis on ball recoveries than goals. The former Swansea City loanee is being priced at £18m which is the same price that Lille Purchased the 23-year-old for, which might seem cheap, but following the recent news that Mediapro’s £2.75bn media deal with Ligue 1 collapsed recently, a lot of clubs in France are set to be under huge financial jeopardy.

David Alaba may come as a surprise to many due to the Austrian being a long-term servant to Bayern Munich, as he is a one-club man at present, however, it has recently been revealed that Alaba doesn’t want to sign a new contract with last season’s treble winners, with the 28-year-olds current deal set to expire this summer.

Legendary goalkeeper and Bayern board member Oliver Kahn said that “We (Bayern) rolled out the red carpet for David Alaba and went to our limits (financial wise). David and especially his agent, Pini Zahavi, have not walked that red carpet. It seems like he's looking around. We have to accept that."

With the current centre back situation at Liverpool not looking promising the Anfield club may opt to test the German champions resolve this window, Alaba can play in numerous positions and may also provide long term cover for the likes of James Milner, who is in the latter stages of his career and will be 35-years-old at the end of this season.

Alike David Alaba, Folarin Balogun is another player that could potentially go to Anfield in January, with the young Arsenal striker’s contract running out in the summer.

The 19-year-old has had an impressive season in Premier League 2, as he has six goal contributions in 10 games for an Arsenal side which sit fourth from bottom in the division. The New York-born striker has also performed well in the UEFA Europa League when played, scoring twice and assisting once in four appearances, with his goals coming away at Norwegian champions Molde and Irish Cup winners Dundalk.

This could be compared to the deal that brought Dominic Solanke to Anfield from Chelsea back in 2017, but Jurgen Klopp will hope that Balogun is more of a success than Solanke was if he is to sign the American striker from the Gunners.

Another centre back that has been linked to Liverpool is promising Schalke defender Ozan Kabak. The 20-year-old is already a Turkish international and has been valued at £22m which is £7m more than the Bundesliga outfit bought Kabak for from Stuttgart.

A deal which has also been rumoured involves Belgian striker Divock Origi being used in a swap deal for the Turkish international, as Schalke are in desperate need of a striker who can score goals, and with being in financial turmoil, can barely afford one, so this wouldn’t be a surprise as the German club are stacked with centre backs such as Salif Sane and former Manchester City man Matija Nastasic.

Despite Schalke conceding 36 goals in 13 games, Kabak’s individual performances have been good, the problems at the VELTINS-Arena go far past the Turkish man, with his side on the verge of not winning a single league game in 12 months. Kabak averages 1.3 tackles, 1.3 interceptions, 3.1 clearances and 0.7 blocks per game for both Turkey and Schalke this season and is an accomplished ball-playing centre back, meaning that this would be a very astute deal for one of Europe’s hottest prospects.