Liverpool rebuilt their midfield over the summer, but we wanted to know what’s become of the players that didn’t end up moving to Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp will be delighted with the impact that Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch have made since arriving at the club, while Wataru Endo has also proven to be a canny acquisition.
But what became of the players they missed out on in the summer? We’ve checked in on seven players that they reportedly targeted signing – and assessed how they’ve fared elsewhere.
Moises Caicedo
You’ll remember the saga between Chelsea and Liverpool for Caicedo at the start of August, with increasingly high transfer fees and increasingly bloated egos on both sides.
The Ecuador international moved to Stamford Bridge for a record £115million, only to give away a penalty against West Ham on his debut.
But, just like the rest of the Chelsea side, Caicedo has gradually improved under the watchful eye of Mauricio Pochettino. A good player, despite the ridiculous fee.
Moises Caicedo talking about Chelsea. pic.twitter.com/h1oWgDp4so
— Frank Khalid OBE (@FrankKhalidUK) November 5, 2023
Romeo Lavia
Lavia was wanted by Liverpool all summer, but were beaten to another midfielder by Chelsea as the Reds dithered over a fee for the Belgium international.
While Liverpool did eventually agree a fee of £60million for Lavia, their indecision gave the 19-year-old the impression that Chelsea wanted him more which allowed Todd Boehly to swoop in.
Sadly, Lavia is yet to play for his new club after suffering an ankle injury in early September.
Kephren Thuram
While Liverpool’s interest in Thuram was legitimate, it didn’t go any further than discussions between the Reds and Nice.
“The main problem with Thuram was that the package was considered too expensive for Liverpool, both in terms of a transfer fee and salary,” transfer insider Fabrizio Romano told the Born and Red podcast.
“There were many things that concerned Liverpool when they had discussions for Thuram.”
Since the summer, Thuram has indicated that he remained at Nice on his own terms but may be open to a move in the future.
“I think I’ve started the season well,” the midfielder said. “The team has of course had a very good start to the season. I have developed aspects of my game. Regarding what happened in the transfer window, I decided to stay.
“I wanted to continue to progress at Nice, and progress as a player at this club. Honestly, it made me happy to be linked to all these clubs left, right and centre.
“It shows I’m doing the right things but as I said, I knew I wanted to stay here.”
Federico Chiesa
Electric during Italy’s Euro 2020 triumph a couple of years back, Chiesa’s career has stalled somewhat since – and Juventus were reportedly open to selling the forward during the summer.
He’s scored four goals in 11 Serie A appearances this term and has also been linked with a move to Arsenal and Newcastle in January, meaning Klopp would face significant competition should he decide to move for Chiesa again.
🌟 EURO 2020 Highlights 🌟
🤩 @federicochiesa 🆚 🇪🇸#ITA | @azzurri | @Vivo_Azzurro pic.twitter.com/Js64S7NPPu
— UEFA EURO 2024 DE (@EURO2024DE) July 17, 2021
Cheick Doucoure
After impressing last season at Crystal Palace, Doucoure was heavily linked with a move to Anfield during the final weeks of the transfer window before staying at Selhurst Park.
Despite Palace’s inconsistent start to the season, the Mail international ranks highly for tackles, interceptions, clearances and winning the ball in the defensive third among his Premier League peers.
At just 23, it feels inevitable that one of the big clubs will snap him up at some point. Could it still be Liverpool?
Piero Hincapie
Hincapie has been one of the stars of Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen side, forging a reputation as one of the best young defenders in world football.
And the Ecuador international’s agent, Manuel Sierra, has confirmed that Liverpool showed an interest in his client over the last transfer window as well and remain keen ahead of January.
“Liverpool were interested in him [Hincapie], but at that time they chose to invest in the midfield,” Sierra told Bolavip. “For January they are talking like other clubs, it will not be less than €50 million.”
With Leverkusen threatening to break Bayern’s Bundesliga stranglehold, there’s no chance of them letting Hincapie go on the cheap. This might be a deal worth resurrecting in the summer.
Why Piero Hincapié should be one of Liverpool’s targets this upcoming transfer market:
[A THREAD 🧵]
The second to last slide has a special treat so make sure to read it all! 😁 pic.twitter.com/2aj3J8Wt5L
— Raws (@Raws_FUT) November 10, 2023
Benjamin Pavard
Pavard was linked with both Liverpool and Manchester United over the summer after falling out favour at Bayern Munich, but the World Cup winner moved to Inter Milan instead.
He had appeared in nine matches for his new club before dislocating his kneecap during a recent win over Atalanta and has been ruled out for a minimum of four weeks.
