Liverpool’s plan for the January window is reportedly built around three midfielders, and not one of them looks a straightforward deal.
According to reporting compiled by TeamTalk, the Reds are actively probing the market for a defensive midfielder after selling Curtis Jones to Inter Milan in the summer and finishing the window without a direct replacement. Andoni Iraola, appointed as head coach ahead of this season, inherits an engine room thinner than the recruitment plan called for.
Monaco’s Lamine Camara is the priority, per that same reporting. The Senegal international was on the verge of a deadline-day move to Chelsea before Monaco pulled the plug in the final hours of the summer window. Journalist Ben Jacobs told TeamTalk that Liverpool had already been in touch with the player’s camp during that saga.
“Liverpool were making calls to the camp of Camara, making it clear that if he stayed [and didn’t join Chelsea], he would be a player relatively high in their thinking for 2027,” Jacobs said.
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Monaco are in no rush to reopen the door. Having rejected Chelsea’s late offer of around €55m, the Ligue 1 side are said to be holding out for a higher figure.
“Monaco still believe they can still get €70m (£60m, $81m), and they want to keep the player now,” Jacobs added.
Wharton priced beyond a January bid
Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton has spent the last 12 months as a name in Liverpool’s file without a serious approach ever materialising. Sports Mole reported in August that Palace have “no intention” of allowing the England midfielder to leave, with the asking price floated as high as £100m.
Pierre Sage’s side would want at least £75m even to consider a sale, and Wharton himself is described as content at Selhurst Park. Palace also rebuffed interest from Manchester City and Chelsea over the summer.
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Inter’s line on Stankovic
Aleksandar Stankovic, the 21-year-old Serbia international, was tabled as part of the Curtis Jones talks between Liverpool and Inter this summer. According to reporting relayed by Anfield Index from TeamTalk, Inter ended those conversations by making clear he was staying, with head coach Cristian Chivu wanting to test him in the first team this season.
Stankovic only returned to Inter this summer after the Nerazzurri activated a €23m buyback clause on his 2025 sale to Club Brugge, tying him to the San Siro until 2031.
None of the three players has been publicly linked with Liverpool by the club itself, and no offer is said to have been formally lodged. The January transfer window in England opens on 1 January 2027.
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