TRANSFER WINDOW REVIEW AFTER A CRAZY DEADLINE DAY

With the January transfer window ‘slamming shut’ last night, we take a look back at the business Liverpool were able to get over the line (including the one they couldn’t) and how it all went down.

New Year’s Day came with nobody expecting the club to make any moves. Even with Salah, Mané and Keita leaving for AFCON, the club was reportedly going to keep it’s powder dry. That was especially the case given the AFCON trio would only miss 2, maybe 3 league games at most.

The days ticked by and other clubs made their moves. Jürgen Klopp’s side just focused on the business on the pitch as they skilfully manouvred their way around a League Cup semi final, an FA Cup third round tie and two potentially tricky league games at home to Brentford and away to Palace.

It seemed like a win for the club’s strategy to not buy just for the sake of it. The winter break commenced and Liverpool were still in four competitions including a League Cup final. Naby Keita had already been knocked out of AFCON and was on his way back.

With the final for that competition being played on the 6th (Mané and Salah are both in the semis), and Liverpool’s next league game coming off on the 9th against Leicester City, it’s possible the duo could be involved. Elliott has returned from injury and scored in a friendly. Thiago was also stepping up his return from a hip injury.

Things were looking up. Then on the 27th, it all took a turn for the dramatic. News broke of Spurs submitting a bid for Porto’s Luis Diaz. The player had been consistently linked with Liverpool for a few months but it seemed Tottenham would steal a march on him after seeing Adama Traore reject them for Barcelona.

News then filtered through at dawn of the Reds rivalling Spurs for Diaz’s signing. It all came from Colombia at first, before the UK based journalists corroborated the story on the morning of the 28th. It all happened so fast. From not being active in the window, Liverpool had all of a sudden hijacked Spurs’ move for Diaz.

It sent the fanbase into a frenzy, with many loving the show of strength. This was a sign of how far we’ve come, with many still remembering the Willian and Gylfi Sigürdsson (to name just two) rejecting us for Spurs way back when. For Diaz, it was explained that he was a serious summer target for the Reds.

The scouting team had invested years of work into him and earmarked him as a key summer addition. The club wasn’t just going to sit around and watch Spurs profit off all their hard work. A deal was soon struck with Porto and a delegation was sent from Merseyside to South America.

The player was representing his country but with time running out in the window, the club tried to get the medical done so the deal could be finalised. As the excitement grew on the prospect of a potential new signing, it came out that the Reds would be interested in a deal for Fulham’s Fabio Carvalho too.

It all seemed too good to be true. It seemed the club wanted to bring two of it’s summer moves forward. That evening saw a record number of Liverpool fans tune into Colombia’s match against Peru, with Kopites seeking to catch a glimpse of Diaz.

The deal was an initial £37.5m, with a further £12.5m in performance related add-ons. A five year deal was mooted as the player underwent his medicals on the 29th. On the 30th, Liverpool had officially announced Diaz. The mood amongst the fanbase was one of hope and excitement.

Such a brilliant addition could well see the Reds over the line in the second half of the season. Barely an hour after Diaz’s capture, it was widely reported that Liverpool had submitted a £5m bid for Carvalho. From no business to all the business, Liverpool wanted all the smoke. The fanbase went wild.

With the player having just six months left on his deal, and with Liverpool and Fulham both keen to avoid a long tribunal as was the case for Elliott, a deal was proposed for Liverpool to sign the player and loan him back to the Championship side.

All the while the likes of Origi, Minamino, Phillips and Neco Williams were linked with a move away before the deadline. Deadline Day came and there was still plenty interest from a Liverpool perspective as a number of deals were yet to be done.

The first piece of business the club did on Deadline Day was a loan deal for centre back Nat Phillips, who joined Bournemouth on loan till the end of the season. It was a well earned move for Nat who had fallen down the pecking order after his heroics last season.

A £1.5m loan fee plus a £500k bonus should the Cherries seal promotion was agreed. Elsewhere, it seemed Fulham were playing hardball on Carvalho, with rumours suggesting they wanted £10million. Minamino meanwhile got his wish to stay at the club when Leeds United’s move for him fell through.

As the hours ticked down to the deadline, Liverpool made an extra push to try and get Carvalho over the line. Two hours before the deadline, talks continued with both clubs keen to get the deal done. Fulham’s interest in taking Neco Williams on loan was also revealed.

With almost an hour to go, an agreement was finally struck with Fulham for the Carvalho’s signature. Time was fast running out and the Reds had to hurry with the medical and the paperwork for the signing as well as the loan back to Fulham. Time wasn’t on the club’s side.

The deadline passed and the paperwork wasn’t done in time so the move fell through. It was a slight negative on what had been a hugely positive window for the club. Fabio Carvalho is still likely to join in the summer with both clubs working to find an agreement for a summer move that negates the need for a tribunal.

Neco Williams got his loan move to Fulham over the line in time though, and will spend the rest of the season on loan at the London club who sit top of the Championship. What a madcap dash at the end! A truly exciting end to the transfer window for Liverpool. How do you rate that window out of ten Reds?