Transfer news, rumours and gossip from Anfield; January transfer window runs until Feb 1; contract talks with Georginio Wijnaldum stall; Liverpool eye Bayern Munich youngster Jamal Musiala; David Alaba reportedly set to join Real Madrid
Monday 1 February 2021 23:12, UK
All the latest Liverpool transfer news, rumours and gossip in the 2021 winter window.
Liverpool have completed the signing of Schalke central defender Ozan Kabak on a six-month loan with an option to buy.
Schalke will pocket an initial loan fee of £1m, rising to £1.5m in potential add-ons depending on appearances and Liverpool's performance in the Champions League.
Liverpool have signed defender Ben Davies from Preston in a £1.6m deal.
The Premier League champions, who agreed a transfer fee for Davies on Sunday, have sent 19-year-old centre-back Sepp van den Berg to Deepdale on loan until the end of the season as part of the deal.
Liverpool have paid £500,000 up front for Davies but Preston could receive add-ons totalling up to £1.1m, while the Championship club will also retain a 20 per cent sell-on clause on the defender.
Liverpool had been looking at loan options, but signing players from abroad is more complicated due to coronavirus travel restrictions.
The club are also wary of a more high-profile signing being moved to the bench when the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomes return.
Davies is also a left-footed centre-back - a relative commodity in football and the kind of player Liverpool currently lack.
Ben Davies - Preston, £500,000
Ozan Kabak - Schalke, six-month loan with an option to buy
Takumi Minamino - Southampton look to have pulled off a major coup as they close in on a loan deal for Liverpool winger Minamino (Sky Sports News, February 1).
Liam Millar - Charlton, loan
Adam Lewis - Plymouth, loan
Georginio Wijnaldum - The midfielder will snub Liverpool's last-ditch efforts to keep him at the club - to fulfil a boyhood dream with Barcelona (Sunday Mirror, January 17); The Liverpool midfielder is now free to speak to foreign clubs and sign a pre-contract agreement. Ronald Koeman is hopeful of bringing his fellow Dutchman to Barcelona but Jurgen Klopp is pushing to Wijnaldum to stay (Sky Sports News, December 28).