Liverpool boost defensive options on transfer deadline day
Liverpool finally bolstered their defensive options by signing Schalke's Ozan Kabak and Preston's Ben Davies as the clock ticked right down to the finish of the Premier League transfer window on Monday.
The January window, which closes at 2300 GMT, is normally seen as a seller's market and frequently a period for stopgap measures but Liverpool have been forced to act.
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 centre-back after moving from his usual midfield position, recently joined the injured list while captain Jordan Henderson, who usually plays in midfield, possesses been forced to deputise at the trunk.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp have been suggesting for several weeks that a replacement centre-back will be a major lift for his team.
Klopp got his wish finally as the Reds earned two defenders in the ultimate hours of the transfer window.
Kabak joined on loan until the end of the growing season, subject to international clearance.
The Premier League champions have paid a short £1 million ($1.37 million) loan cost with the option to buy for £18 million at the end of the season.
The 20-year-old arrives after 2 yrs in the Bundesliga, where he played for Stuttgart before joining Schalke in July 2019.
He previously gained Champions League experience at Galatasaray and has won seven caps for Turkey.
Davies, 25, signed for an initial fee thought to be £500,000, plus future add-ons.
Klopp conceded signing a relatively unknown player from the next tier was a move forced by simply financial restraints of the pandemic and Liverpool's injury woes.
"It's probably clear that in a standard transfer window, with no issues, we'd not look at Preston if there's a new player for all of us," he said.
"But since we saw him and since our situation got clearer and clearer -- the issues we had -- whenever we saw him we got really worked up about it and thought, 'Wow.' We start to see the quality and we start to see the potential."
Davies made 145 appearances for Preston, scoring two goals, following his debut in 2013.
"Obviously it came as a bit of a surprise when it first arrived but once you start to get your mind around it, the ability that is before me is incredible," Davies said.
"I'd be silly never to make the almost all of it and learn off the players. I've never actually been to Anfield and I haven't had a shop around yet."
- Mustafi leaves -
Gedson Fernandes ended his disappointing spell in Tottenham, with the midfielder's loan from Benfica cancelled as a result he could join Galatasaray.
Major moves involving "Big Six" Premier League clubs appeared unlikely in Monday.
Top-flight clubs, who splashed the money in the summer transfer window, will be reeling from the financial fallout because of this of the Covid-19 crisis and so are coming to terms with new Brexit rules that make it tougher to recruit young players from Europe.
Among the handful of eye-catching deals that contain taken place over the past month, Manchester United completed the transfer of teenage Ivorian winger Amad Diallo from Serie A side Atalanta for a charge that could surge to £37 million.
On Monday, Arsenal allowed Shkodran Mustafi to leave, with the German defender signing a short-term contract at Schalke.
Relegation-threatened West Bromwich Albion signed Turkey midfielder Okay Yokuslu over loan from Celta Vigo before end of the growing season.
West Brom also agreed a good deal with Arsenal to have the versatile Ainsley Maitland-Niles on loan before end of the term.
Ecuador international Moises Caicedo has joined Brighton from Independiente del Valle for a payment of around £4 million.
Newcastle signed Arsenal midfielder Joe Willock on loan for all of those other season, even while Magpies' right-rear DeAndre Yedlin joined Galatasaray in a permanent deal.
Everton defender Jonjoe Kenny joined troubled Scottish champions Celtic on loan.
