Liverpool are reportedly open to the idea of signing a midfielder on loan before the January transfer window slams shut on Tuesday.
The Reds' only winter acquisition so far has been Dutch attacker Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven, but fans have been urging Jurgen Klopp's side to make at least one midfield addition.
Liverpool opted against splashing the cash on a big name in the engine room last summer, instead bringing Arthur Melo to the club on loan from Juventus on transfer deadline day.
The Brazilian has only played 13 minutes for Liverpool owing to a serious thigh injury, although he could potentially make his long-awaited comeback from surgery next month.
The likes of Jude Bellingham, Ruben Neves and Matheus Nunes are all understood to be on Liverpool's radar, but the Merseyside club will wait until the summer before moving for any of their primary targets.
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While Liverpool save their resources for a potential nine-figure Bellingham swoop, Klopp's charges continue to struggle for form and saw their FA Cup defence end with a 2-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion in the fourth round on Sunday.
Following that loss at the Amex, Klopp ruled out the prospect of his side doing any further business in January, telling the press: "No, nothing will happen in this transfer window, that's all. All good."
However, the Daily Mail claims that Liverpool could still try to bring a new midfielder to the club on loan in the next couple of days, and the Reds are scoping out several top European squads for players.
The report states that Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Atletico Madrid's midfields are all being looked at by Liverpool, although it is unclear if Klopp has any specific names in mind.
Liverpool stand to lose all of James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on free transfers at the end of the season, at which point the club will intensify their pursuits of top targets such as Bellingham and Nunes.
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While Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain are widely expected to leave at the end of their contracts, Klopp has hinted that he would like 37-year-old Milner to stay on at Anfield for a little while longer.
"We have different plans for Milly but Milly wants to keep playing, I think everyone understands that," Klopp told reporters earlier this month. "You can't judge him normal for his age. He is 37, but he doesn't look a day like this when he is in training.
"It is not that Milly expects to play 64 games a season but in a 64-game season Milly could be extremely important. That is how it is. Milly has reached 600 games and most of them were for Liverpool.
"Even a player who had a few clubs can end up at 'his' club and I would consider Liverpool as 'his' club, and I am pretty sure the club should use his character and his mindset because it is really special.
"There might be more fancy players out there but no one with a similar mindset and that makes him incredibly valuable for us. And it is not because I am 'too loyal'; it is just a fact."
As well as Keita, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Milner, Liverpool have Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcantara, Harvey Elliott and Stefan Bajcetic competing for minutes in midfield, and the latter recently signed a contract extension until 2027 as a reward for his breakthrough season.
Ben Knapton
