Chelsea appears to have walked away from one transfer, but Premier League interest remains. Liverpool should muscle in for a player likened to Lionel Messi.
Much of the focus in the upcoming January transfer window will surround how Liverpool goes about managing its center-back core. An ACL injury to Joel Matip means it’s unclear whether he will play for the Reds again, with his contract situation still up in the air.
Jürgen Klopp has seemed reluctant to entertain the idea of potentially sub-optimal defensive reinforcements. But the winter transfer window has also presented the Reds with an opportunity to land a player who could thrive under the manager’s tutelage.
Mohamed Salah is Liverpool’s only true senior right-winger as Ben Doak continues his rise in the first team. There is an option who could provide depth on both sides of the forward line.
Lyon winger Rayan Cherki was on the radar of Chelsea in the summer. Interest was ‘dropped’, but Premier League suitors are beginning to resurface. Teamtalk reports that West Ham is best placed to sign the 20-year-old, but it’s a move that the Reds should be looking to hijack.
Media in France have also detailed Cherki’s potential valuation. Lyon could be willing to let him go for a fee of just $21m (£17m/€20m), according to Foot Mercato, which outlines how the club’s hierarchy are split on whether he can play a significant role in manager Fabio Grosso’s plans.
Cherki’s numbers have dipped this season with just one assist in 14 games, with his performances not quite of the level of the 10 goal contributions in 34 league games he registered in the previous Ligue 1 campaign. But at 20, and with impressive numbers in other areas of his game, a move for Cherki would represent strong value, and importantly, low risk.
FBref reveals how he remains one of the top players in Europe in terms of progressive carries, progressive passes, and successful take-ons. While there may now be some question marks over his production, Liverpool would capture the signature of a player who had numbers on par with Lionel Messi last season. For such a nominal fee, the move would also be in line with FSG’s strategy of acquiring players that maintain or increase resale value.
Of course, Salah’s performances in the current campaign indicate that there is still some time before his production curtails, but given his importance to Klopp’s squad, the job of finding his future successor should already be underway. Harvey Elliott’s limited time on the right flank suggests that his long-term future will remain in central midfield, continuing a trend that has seen the Reds without a standout secondary right-wing option since Salah’s arrival.
Should Chelsea or West Ham challenge for the France U21 international, Liverpool may need to repeat its transfer hijack of Luis Díaz from Tottenham in January 2022. It could secure a player that Liverpool.com previously compared to Philippe Coutinho — not a bad fallback for if he doesn’t quite scale the heights of Messi.
