Everyone at Liverpool anxiously waits for this evening’s Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. Who’d have thought it: if the hosts win they will slash Liverpool’s advantage at the summit to just three points, albeit with a game still in hand.
However, Arne Slot and his crew will be confident that they can bury any giant-killing talk with an assured display, moving one step closer to the title.
For sporting director Richard Hughes, he will of course have an eye on the game but no doubt his other fixed on the transfer. market, eager to strengthen the Reds should the right opportunity come along.
Liverpool open to market move
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is the name doing the rounds right now, but transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has made it clear that Paris Saint-Germain are leading the race for the winger.
However, Liverpool are open to multiple possibilities, and Sky Sports Germany have reported that Liverpool are in direct contact with Joshua Kimmich’s entourage as they consider signing the Bayern Munich star when his contract expires at the end of the season.
However, Bayern are growing in confidence that they will extend the Germany captain’s deal and thus, Liverpool are willing to spend €25m (£21m) for his signing this winter, though it all hinges on Trent Alexander-Arnold.
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What Joshua Kimmich would bring to Liverpool
Alexander-Arnold is out of contract at the end of the season and, while those of a Liverpool persuasion hang onto hope that he will extend with his boyhood club, it’s getting increasingly likely that Real Madrid will reportedly make him their latest Galactico.
Kimmich has principally played as a deep-sitting midfielder over the past few years at the Allianz Arena but has a wealth of experience at right-back, posting 11 goals and 44 assists across 127 appearances in the role.
The 29-year-old would slot seamlessly back into the position, endowed with the technical and creative properties to thrive in the Premier League while also being “one of the best 1v1 defenders in the world,” according to one football content creator. That is something Trent sadly does not specialise in.
That praise, however, is backed up by Kimmich’s impressive 65% success rate in the ground duel for Bayern this season, as per Sofascore. Alexander-Arnold, by contrast, has won 49% of his Premier League ground duels in 2024/25.
1.
Trent Alexander-Arnold
243
62 (0.26)
2.
Andy Robertson
292
59 (0.20)
3.
Leighton Baines
420
53 (0.13)
4.
Graeme Le Saux
327
44 (0.13)
5.
Andy Hinchcliffe
219
36 (0.16)
Though Liverpool’s right-back is one of the finest playmakers that English football has ever seen, he could be effectively replaced by Kimmich, whose completeness has seen him enjoy an illustrious career in his homeland.
Perhaps now, at the height of his powers, he could actually enhance Liverpool’s defensive ranks through an even more refined version.
BBC analyst Raj Chohan has hailed Kimmich as a “generational player in two different roles,” underscoring the value of Liverpool signing him. Not only could he effectively take Alexander-Arnold’s place, but he could lessen the workload that Ryan Gravenberch carries in the middle of the park.
There sure are a lot of variables at play here, but Liverpool need to get this one done. Should Alexander-Arnold leave, there is no better option to jockey for a place with Conor Bradley and keep Slot’s system firing at full throttle.
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