Liverpool finally bolstered their defensive options by signing Schalke 04’s Ozan Kabak and Preston North End’s Ben Davies before the English Premier League transfer window slammed shut on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Premier League champions’ Japanese attacking midfielder Takumi Minamino left for Southampton on loan until the end of the season in one of the few moves between Premier League clubs on a quiet deadline day.
The January window is regarded as a sellers’ market and often a time for stopgap measures, but Liverpool were forced to act.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The champions are missing all of their senior central defenders, with Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip out of action.
Fabinho, who had impressed at centerback after moving from his usual midfield position, recently joined the injured list, while captain Jordan Henderson, who usually plays in midfield, has been forced to deputize at the back.
Minamino departed Anfield for Southampton in a surprise move allowed to be completed after the window shut because the Saints had submitted the necessary paperwork in time.
Photo: AP
“I am very pleased to welcome Takumi to our squad for the rest of this season,” Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl said in club statement issued two hours after the 11pm GMT deadline.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp had been suggesting for several weeks that a replacement centerback would be a major lift for his team.
Klopp got his wish at last as the Reds brought in two defenders in the final hours of the transfer window.
Kabak joined on loan until the end of the season, subject to international clearance.
The Premier League champions have paid an initial £1 million (US$1.37 million) loan fee with the option to buy for £18 million at the end of the season.
The 20-year-old arrives after two years in the Bundesliga, where he played for VfB Stuttgart before joining Schalke in July 2019.
He previously gained UEFA Champions League experience at Galatasaray and has won seven caps for Turkey.
Davies, 25, signed for an initial fee believed to be £500,000, plus future add-ons.
Klopp conceded signing a relatively unknown player from the second tier was a move forced by financial restraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Liverpool’s injury woes.
“It’s probably clear that in a normal transfer window, without any issues, we would not look at Preston if there’s a player for us, but since we saw him and since our situation got clearer and clearer — the problems we had — when we saw him we got really excited about it and thought: ‘Wow.’ We see the quality and we see the potential” he said.
Davies made 145 appearances for Preston, scoring two goals, since his debut in 2013.
“Obviously it came as a bit of a surprise when it first came out, but once you start to get your head around it, the opportunity that is in front of me is incredible,” Davies said.
Major moves involving “Big Six” Premier League clubs were few and far between last month.
Top-flight clubs, who splashed the cash in the summer transfer window, are reeling from the financial fallout as a result of the COVID-19 crisis and are coming to terms with new Brexit rules that make it tougher to recruit young players from Europe.
The last time less than £100 million was spent in the January transfer window was 2012.
Arsenal allowed Shkodran Mustafi to leave, with the German defender signing a short-term contract at Schalke.
Gedson Fernandes ended his disappointing spell at Tottenham Hotsput, with the midfielder’s loan from SL Benfica canceled so he could join Galatasaray.
Relegation-threatened West Bromwich Albion signed Turkey midfielder Okay Yokuslu on loan from RC Celta de Vigo until the end of the season.
West Brom also agreed a deal with Arsenal to take the versatile Ainsley Maitland-Niles on loan until the end of this term.
Ecuador international Moises Caicedo joined Brighton & Hove Albion from Independiente del Valle for a fee of around £4 million.
Newcastle signed Arsenal midfielder Joe Willock on loan for the rest of the season, while Magpies’ rightback DeAndre Yedlin joined Galatasaray in a permanent deal.
Fulham landed former Sunderland forward Josh Maja on loan from French side Girondins de Bordeaux.
Everton signed AFC Bournemouth striker Josh King in a late deal.
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