Liverpool fight Tottenham for free Prem transfer as Klopp sanctions three January exits
Liverpool want to beat Premier League rivals Tottenham to Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo on a free transfer in the summer, according to reports.
The Reds have not made a signing so far this month as it looks extremely likely that Liverpool will end the January transfer window without any new players.
And instead most of the players linked to Liverpool are looking ahead to the summer transfer window after Jurgen Klopp announced he would be leaving at the end of the season.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe is one big rumoured addition ahead of the summer despite how unlikely it is that Liverpool can pull off such a deal, while Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Piero Hincapie is another player who is regularly linked.
But the Daily Mirror insists they are looking at the summer to bring in a new centre-back with Fulham defender Adarabioyo ‘an option’ as they weigh up a move.
Adarabioyo, who is out of contract in the summer, has ‘hugely impressed’ Liverpool as they watched him closely in their victory over the Cottagers in their Carabao Cup semi-final clash last week.
READ MORE: Liverpool fans get all sweary at lack of respect for Jurgen Klopp (or Clop)
Despite Klopp announcing his exit, the Daily Mirror insist that ‘a free transfer to replace the likes of Joel Matip is likely to appeal’ with Fulham ‘happy to wait and see what develops’.
And the German has allowed Nat Phillips to join Cardiff City on loan, while Calvin Ramsay has departed to Bolton and Owen Beck has left to rejoin Scottish side Dundee on a temporary basis.
Virgil van Dijk’s uncertainty about his Liverpool future has highlighted the potential for other members to raise doubts over their continuation after Klopp’s exit announcement – but transfer expert Fabrizio Romano thinks it’s “completely normal”.
Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column: “After the big news on Jurgen Klopp leaving his job as Liverpool manager at the end of the season, we’ve also seen Virgil van Dijk speak about his future and cast some doubt over whether he’ll still be at Anfield for the long-term and for the next part of their story after Klopp moves on.
“To be honest, I’m not sure this should come as a huge surprise – I think it’s completely normal. As Van Dijk said, Liverpool need new director, new manager, new staff…it will be a revolution inside the club. So it’s impossible to know what’s next for the players who are out of contract in June 2025. Step by step. New director, then new manager, then time to make important decisions.
“It’s the same with Thiago Alcantara, who is out of contract at the end of this season. It’s too early to say for now what will happen – if you don’t have a manager/director, no one is making these kinds of decisions. We have to wait for new director and new manager in order for them to meet, discuss and decide on players’ futures including Thiago Alcantara. It was quiet so far on his contract extension, but now there will be new people in.”