Liverpool's Transfer Market: Midfield Concerns Amid Ambitious Moves
Liverpool’s transfer market summer has been all about width and defence. The risk is that the middle of Andoni Iraola’s team gets left dangerously bare.
While the club push ahead with ambitious moves for PSG pair Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye – deals that would take their winger intake to three after the arrival of Victor Munoz – the heart of the pitch is being quietly stripped back.
At the back, there has been a clear reset. Jeremy Jacquet, outstanding in the final pre-season outing against Como, is in. Ronald Araujo has arrived on loan. The flanks and the defence are being armed for Iraola’s high-energy, front-foot football.
The midfield? That is where the alarm bells are starting to ring.
Bajcetic talks gather pace
On Monday, Fabrizio Romano revealed that Getafe have opened talks with Liverpool over Stefan Bajcetic. The 21-year-old, long viewed as one of the brightest prospects at Anfield, is now at the centre of discussions over a move back to Spain.
Romano confirmed the negotiations on X, but stopped short of stating whether Liverpool and Getafe are working on a loan or a permanent transfer.
The player’s stance has been clear for some time. Last month, Matteo Moretto reported that Bajcetic is ready to return to his home country if Liverpool decide to cut ties. Iraola, according to that report, “likes him a lot” and wanted to see him closely in pre-season before any decision was made.
That decision point has now arrived.
Bajcetic’s contract runs out next summer, which leaves Liverpool with a simple but unforgiving equation. Any loan would require a renewal first to protect his value. If that cannot be agreed, a sale to Getafe becomes the cleanest solution.
For a manager who admired the youngster enough to keep him around for assessment, losing him now would be a significant call in the very first weeks of a new regime.
Jones edging towards Inter exit
At the same time, Curtis Jones is moving closer to the Anfield exit.
The midfielder, a boyhood Red who has come through the club’s academy and fought his way into the first team, is determined to join Serie A champions Inter Milan. Over the weekend, the path to that switch cleared dramatically.
Liverpool have lowered their asking price from £34m to £30m. Inter, who had already tested the waters with a £26m bid earlier in the window, are now expected to return with an improved offer that comes closer to Liverpool’s new valuation.
The Italian champions also needed space in their own midfield. That obstacle has gone. Davide Frattesi has been loaned to Lazio, with an option to buy included, freeing Inter to push ahead for Jones.
Two midfielders, both with high ceilings and different profiles, could now leave within the same window. Neither has been replaced. That is where the tension lies.
A thin core for a heavy schedule
If Jones completes his move to Inter and Bajcetic heads to Getafe or elsewhere in LaLiga, Iraola will be left with just five recognised central midfielders: Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and teenager Trey Nyoni.
On paper, it is a talented group. Mac Allister brings control and craft, Szoboszlai offers drive and goals, Gravenberch carries the ball through lines, Endo screens and snaps into tackles, Nyoni represents raw potential.
But for a club that expects to compete on four fronts, that quintet looks worryingly light. One injury, maybe two, and the structure starts to creak. Three, and it breaks.
Liverpool have spent the summer sharpening their attack and refreshing their defence. The risk is obvious: if the club cash in on Jones and Bajcetic without a rethink, the engine room of Iraola’s Liverpool could be left running on fumes long before the season’s real battles begin.
