Liverpool are still yet to make a firm move in the transfer market as they ponder their first signing under Arne Slot.
The Reds are reportedly looking for a new centre-back, a wide forward and potentially a new defensive midfielder.
On Thursday, it surprisingly looked like there could be a chance that Liverpool were proactively trying to sort out a new holding player for Slot.
Reports claimed that Liverpool were making a ‘frantic’ attempt to sign Feyenoord’s Mats Wieffer from right under Brighton’s noses. However, Wieffer still looks on course to sign for the Seagulls imminently.
With Slot obviously a big fan of Wieffer having worked with him for two years at Feyenoord, he would have felt like a strong addition to the Liverpool squad.
Why Liverpool chose not to sign Mats Wieffer
Liverpool were undercooked in defensive midfield heading into last season. Wataru Endo was the only natural option for Jurgen Klopp.
12 months on, and the Reds have another chance to address the frailty for their new head coach.
Nevertheless, it felt strange that Liverpool would have waited until the last minute to make an attempt to sign Wieffer.
The signing would naturally have gotten Slot’s blessing and it seems unlikely that the Reds would have allowed themselves to be beaten to a signing by Brighton.
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With all due respect to the Seagulls, you’d imagine that if Liverpool had made a late push to sign Wieffer, then he’d have picked Anfield over the Amex, too.
As a result, the Reds’ choosing not to go for the 24-year-old can be put down to footballing reasons.
According to The Daily Mail though, those reasons are not because of question marks over Wieffer’s ability. Rather, Liverpool reportedly ‘believe they have enough cover’ and don’t need the Dutchman.
The report claims that despite suggestions from Wieffer’s homeland that the Reds were frantically trying to sign him, this was never the case.
What options do Liverpool have instead?
Liverpool seem happy with the state of their squad heading into pre-season under Slot. It’s clear that they aren’t going to rush into anything in the transfer market.
For some fans, that will be a real disappointment and a glaring mistake from the Liverpool owners. However, that doesn’t necessarily have to be true.
We’re not yet sure exactly what system Slot will deploy for the Reds. Having become so used to seeing Liverpool play with a 4-3-3, supporters naturally want more cover in defensive midfield.
But if Slot uses his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation then perhaps Liverpool really do have enough.
They have a raft of midfielders who could play in a double pivot, and more who could feature in the slightly more advance role, too. There’s no need to panic, Liverpool are well stocked for now.
In the meantime, perhaps they’ll continue to monitor Wieffer at Brighton.
