Blow for Liverpool as cash-crunch looks set to topple chances of January addition

Liverpool cannot afford Wolves’ captain Ruben Neves this January

It is common knowledge that Liverpool need to bring on board a quality midfielder or two soon. This January window offers the Reds the opportunity to do the same and the team has plenty of targets as well. However, following the acquisition of a forward in Cody Gakpo earlier this window, the chances of the team investing in another player look slim to Alex Crook.

Moreover, he also added that Liverpool certainly cannot afford to land Wolverhampton skipper Ruben Neves who is one of their major transfer targets this season. (h/t Liverpool Echo) The 25-year-old has a contract at Wolves until 2025 (Transfermarkt) and he is also on the radar of other clubs including the likes of FC Barcelona, Manchester United and Newcastle United.

The Portuguese international, even though an extremely skilful player has been unable to make his presence felt at his club this season amid poor form for the rest of the team due to which they find themselves in the 16th position on the charts. But even in what is proving to be a season of struggle, the player has four goals in 24 appearances across all competitions.

The former FC Porto midfielder could prove to be costly this window for the Reds as Julen Lopetegui would certainly not want to part ways with the club captain, who could have a great impact on the West Midlanders’ chances of staying put in England’s top tier.

The chance of Neves moving to Liverpool looks slim

In any case, the presence of Neves in the Reds’ midfield will unquestionably improve Liverpool and their midfield. Presently, we have Fabinho, Thiago and Jordan Henderson as starters, two of them over 31 and the Brazilian not playing at his best.

Other options include James Milner, Naby Keita, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Two things common for them apart from the fact the trio plays for the Reds is that all these three are extremely injury prone, plus they run out of contract at Liverpool later this year in June, and there is no news of a contract extension for either of them.

In this phase of transition, Jurgen Klopp relying on youngsters like Harvey Elliott, Fabio Carvalho and Curtis Jones could only take the club to a certain distance and not beyond that as a big experienced presence is certainly a must in any football club and with 160 appearances in the Premier League, Neves brings just that.

Understanding that the player could prove to be expensive, the Reds should look for alternatives elsewhere and some who could fit in the squad and have an almost immediate impact to help Liverpool’s chances of finishing in the top four.

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There is no use in repeating the fact that the Reds need midfield reinforcements as the ones who are in the positions to take us out of this mess would do so in only one ask rather than repeated. FSG need to have a look at its business model and certainly needs to invest more money into the club towards recruitment.