There’s a theme that keeps coming back around with Liverpool recruitment, and it’s not just “we didn’t get the lad”. It’s what happens after we don’t get the lad. We start behaving like the first choice was the only choice, and the position can just be parked until further notice.

You see it in central midfield. It’s not really fair to say Arne didn’t want a midfielder in there, because the pursuit of Zubimendi, whatever you think of him, tells you we were looking at that profile. And yes, he’s not the full-on destroyer type that a lot of us crave, but the bigger point is simpler: we identified a need. That was summer 2024. If the need was real then, why does it suddenly become optional across the next three windows?

The “perfect” player trap

This is where I get frustrated, because it feels like Liverpool won’t move unless the player ticks every box: age, style, wages, resale, personality, availability, the lot. In isolation, that’s sensible. It’s how you avoid expensive mistakes.

But football seasons don’t pause while you wait for the ideal option. You can end up making a different mistake: being right on the spreadsheet, and short on the pitch. There’s a middle ground between panic-buying and refusing to buy anyone at all.

Centre-back: one target and a shrug?

Centre-back feels similar. The Guehi chase, as presented, reads like another summer of “this one or none”. If it’s true we pursued him and didn’t land him, fine, it happens. The part that sticks is the follow-up: still no addition, still no alternative.

And if you genuinely believe a major defender might not commit long-term, you can’t keep acting like it’s a problem for later while leaning on him as first choice. That’s how you get caught between two stools, planning for a future that never arrives while risking the present.

Left wing planning that never quite lands

On the left, the feeling is we’ve been hearing about Diaz’s situation for ages and yet the squad still looks light there. Even the idea of not blocking a young player’s pathway only holds up if that young player is actually getting minutes and looks ready to take them. Otherwise it’s just a neat line that keeps the debate quiet for a bit.

So what is it: scouting, decisiveness, budget, wages? Truth is, from the outside, it’s hard to know. But it’s the repeated pattern that worries me more than any single miss. Liverpool don’t need to win every chase. They do need to show they’ve got a Plan B that doesn’t involve doing nothing.

Written by Hugo Spritz: 26 January 2026

Tags: efl rumours