Three Liverpool players most likely to be sold in January

While perhaps considered not as crucial as the summer window, the January transfer period presents Premier League clubs with an opportunity to make business decisions that could reap rewards on the charge to a title.

Liverpool currently sit atop the table, but setbacks against Newcastle and Fulham at Anfield highlight potential areas for improvement.

Here are three players Arne Slot might consider selling to fund key signings that could help Liverpool secure the league title they’ve been craving.

3. Kostas Tsimikas

The Greek Scouser has produced a fair share of great moments for the Reds, including his famous winning penalty in the 2022 FA Cup Final.

His contributions to the squad this season have been limited, however–Tsimikas has played for 75 minutes or more in just six games across all competitions for Liverpool this season, albeit largely due to injury, but his presence has not been felt much under Slot.

Tsimikas has primarily been a substitute throughout his Liverpool career, making appearances in over half the games of a Premier League season just once.

This should raise questions about whether his aggregate playing time offers more value than a potential cash return.

Between Tsimikas’ scant minutes and Andrew Robertson’s dip in form this season, left back could be a position in which Liverpool need to strengthen in order to secure a title, and with a projected €22 million price tag, Tsimikas could be a key sale for an upgrade at the same position.

If there’s a silver lining to Liverpool dropping points at home to Fulham—a match in which Robertson failed to mark Andreas Pereira effectively on the opening goal and picked up a red card minutes later—it’s that Fulham’s Antonee Robinson may have demonstrated to Reds management that he could solve their left-back dilemma.

Robinson delivered a Man of the Match performance at Anfield, providing assists on both Fulham goals and handled the task of defending Mohamed Salah serviceably.

Robinson is also tied for delivering the third most assists in the Premier League this season, finding himself amongst the upper echelon of providers like Cole Palmer and Buyako Saka. Not a bad place to be for a defender.

Liverpool have shown that they love having playmaking fullbacks in their team over the years, and with an estimated transfer fee right in the ballpark of Tsimikas’, Liverpool could essentially swap their backup for a rising star in Robinson.

2. Wataru Endō

Jürgen Klopp brought in Endō from Stuttgart last summer during a time in which the Liverpool midfield was under intense scrutiny, and the Japanese international ended up making wonderful contributions to the team.

Endō started 20 games for the Reds in the Premier League last season, earning big time minutes due to his high motor and defensive ability.

He was the definition of a player that wouldn’t show up much on the score sheet, but was willing to do the nitty-gritty work to hold the Reds’ midfield down.

However, Slot has raised the ability of the Liverpool midfield to a level not many could have predicted.

With the likes of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai flying under the new double pivot system, Endō has been the odd man out.

Gravenberch in particular has excelled in his defensive duties as a No. 6, even sliding in at center back comfortably after Robertson’s aforementioned red card vs. Fulham. This has resulted in Endō appearing to be more of an afterthought for Slot, as he has made zero Premier League starts this season.

Having played just 168 minutes across all competitions this campaign, Slot must consider whether using Endō primarily for starts in tournaments like the EFL Cup is more valuable than giving opportunities to younger middies such as Tyler Morton or James McConnell, or opting for a financial boost by selling him.

Endō’s recent performances for the Japanese national team also highlight that his lack of playing time with the Reds isn’t due to poor form.

He captained Japan in all of their recent Asian World Cup qualifiers when he was fit, leading them to victory in all five matches he played with a commanding 21-1 aggregate score.

It’s not Endō’s fault that Liverpool’s midfield is currently crowded, but between the strong performances of the regular starters and Harvey Elliott returning from injury, it might be best for both parties to let Endō move on to a club where his contributions would be more impactful.

1. Caoimhín Kelleher

As I’ve said before, Liverpool should be thanking their lucky stars that Caoimhín Kelleher was the club’s backup goalkeeper during Alisson Becker’s absence due to injury.

Save for a messy performance against Newcastle, Kelleher stood on his head for the Reds, earning three clean sheets in three Champions League starts in addition to making consistently good appearances in the Premier League, keeping their title charge on course.

Unfortunately for Kelleher, though, there is one slight problem–that he is not the best goalkeeper in the world and Alisson is.

The Brazilian announced his return in a big way against Girona, making multiple key saves including a worldie on youngster Yáser Asprilla en route to a clean sheet and another three points to see Liverpool remain perfect in the Champions League group stage.

Not much else needs to be said about Alisson, but Kelleher has truly established himself as a goalkeeper of top quality in world football, especially present in his penalty-stopping ability.

Even if Alisson were to seriously re-injure himself, Vitezslav Jaros, the future of the club’s position, has returned from loan and could serve as backup himself. Kelleher’s stock is at an all-time high right now–and it may finally be time to cash in.

If Liverpool were to sign Antonee Robinson and sell Kelleher, their next area for improvement could be up front.

While Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo have been outstanding this season, the lack of production from Luís Díaz (no league goals since September) and Darwin Núñez (just two league goals all season) might prompt Liverpool to seek out a goal-scoring threat.

Kelleher has an approximate value of €20 million, which could be used to chop the €40 million asking fee on Frankfurt sensation Omar Marmoush in half if Liverpool were to sell the Irishman.

Marmoush has recorded a highly impressive 13 goals in 14 Bundesliga appearances this season, and there has been speculation that he could be heir to the Egyptian King’s throne.

It’s hard to not get romantic about Liverpool signing a player of the same nationality as Salah, as the possibility of him taking Marmoush under his wing is indeed tantalizing.

But while Salah has plenty more to give on Merseyside, Liverpool could still use a shake-up in its forward play right now, and Marmoush could be a perfect target for the Reds for a reasonable price point if they were to see Kelleher depart.

I find it hard to believe that Kelleher is perfectly content with primarily serving as a backup at this point in his club career, and a mutually beneficial move from Liverpool could also boost the Reds’ squad with a subsequent acquisition from his sale.