The January transfer window finally came up trumps for Liverpool after the club stalled on the opportunity to sign a new centre-back after the long-term injuries to Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gome, and ultimately Joel Matip with the trio leaving Jurgen Klopp without a fit senior centre-back.
On the last day of the winter window, the club managed to sign Ben Davies from Preston North End for £1.67 million and Ozan Kabak from Schalke 04 on an initial six-month loan for £990k with an option to buy the Turkish international for £18 million in the summer.
It proved a great bit of business from the club given the time left to complete the deal and the quality of the players we managed to bring in on the last day of the window – but one probably has arisen from the situation with the new signings,… they haven’t started a game yet.
The pair joined the club to provide them with options in central defence to allow Jordan Henderson and hopefully Fabinho back into midfield, with Davies and Kabak to become a defensive partnership for the remainder of the season.
Are Liverpool out of the title race?
Yes
No
From what we have seen and to most people’s knowledge, the pair aren’t quite up to par as of yet in regards to the amount of training they have had with the squad on top of the amount of time playing together with them needing to build up a strong partnership and understanding with one another but the problem is, the Reds don’t have enough time to let them get the plan full-proof.
With just 15 games left of the current campaign and only a matter of time for the Reds to be able to secure a spot in next seasons Champions League – Klopp and his team must do all they can to get the new duo into the starting XI and making an impact in games to ensure the rest of the squad is at full strength. Henderson and Fabinho work better in midfield and the whole system of how Klopp plays is mainly dependent on them featuring in their favoured positions.
I fear that if these issues aren’t sorted in time, we can say goodbye to a spot in next season’s Champions League competition.
What do you think Liverpool fans, will the pair be ready to feature soon? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below…