Liverpool's lack of activity in the January transfer market has proven to be the correct strategy as the majority of the current squad have shown they are better than potential replacements, Reds expert David Lynch has argued.
The winter window closed on Monday, and while Manchester City were the highest spenders in the division having dished out around £180m in transfer fees, the Merseysiders did not make a single signing.
However, Liverpool advanced to the final of the EFL Cup by defeating Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 at Anfield on Thursday, showcasing the strength of the team already at Arne Slot's disposal.
Lynch was keen to emphasise that the lack of expenditure in January was largely driven by the exceptional form of players like Ryan Gravenberch, telling Sports Mole: "There's always speculation [that a lack of transfer activity] is driven by the owners and them not wanting to spend, but I can tell you very much that it's been driven by the football staff. The manager doesn't feel like he needs anything.
"One thing I don't think people have got onto yet is that the need in defensive midfield is completely different to what Liverpool considered it to be nine months ago. Going into that summer, they thought that they wanted Zubimendi to play that role, but Ryan Gravenberch's emergence has come as a nice surprise, not just to us, but internally as well. It wasn't always the plan for him to operate in that role.
"Even Caicedo, he's had some really good games this season, but he's not touching Ryan Gravenberch's level at the moment. Ryan Gravenberch is one of the best in the world in that double pivot, that's how good he is."
Gravenberch was brought to Anfield in the summer of 2023 from Bayern Munich, joining fellow midfield signing Wataru Endo, and though the latter was trusted by previous boss Jurgen Klopp at the base of midfield in 2023-24, the Dutchman has been Slot's number one.
Why Liverpool did not need to reinforce
Trent Alexander-Arnold was ruled out of his side's game against Spurs as a result of a minor injury, but Conor Bradley filled in and earned praise for registering an assist for Dominik Szoboszlai's goal in the second half.
Additionally, Slot was able to substitute in Alexis Mac Allister, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz during the game, with the Dutchman benefiting from being able to bring on high-quality players, something that rivals such as Arsenal have been unable to do.
When speaking to Sports Mole about why he was confident that Liverpool can beat the Gunners to the Premier League title, Lynch referenced their failure to reinforce their squad in January, saying: "The only worry you had around Arsenal was if they did something in the market that would change the outlook for them - maybe signing someone like Ollie Watkins, who would come in straight away and score goals.
"But as it is, no Saka, no Jesus for the rest of the season. Saka's going to come back, late March, early April? Even then, he's going to have to play himself back in a little bit. They're not going to score enough goals.
"They scored five at the weekend but I still thought it was fortuitous circumstances. They lack that firepower, and that means they have to be absolutely perfect defensively, which is impossible to do. So I don't think they did enough to make Liverpool worry about them."
Arsenal were eliminated by Newcastle United on Wednesday from the semi-final of the EFL Cup, losing 4-0 across the tie, failing to convert a number of chances in the first leg and failing to truly threaten the Toon in the second.
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Will Liverpool have too much to do in the summer?
One of the concerns that Liverpool fans have is that by not being more active in January, the club may have significant work to do in the summer, especially if Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold leave for free at the end of the season.
Trying to replace the trio while also looking for improvements in areas such as left-back could be difficult to manage in one window, and it would almost certainly prove to be enormously expensive.
However, when asked by Sports Mole if he was confident of any renewals taking place, Lynch was optimistic despite some concerns, saying: "I find it surprising that Van Dijk isn't done at the moment, the one who I think his demands will not be quite as big as the others, and there's not the Real Madrid factor there. Slightly surprised that that one's not done.
"Until they're not signed and we get a concrete development either way, I always lean to the idea that they'll get done. It went close to the wire with Mo Salah the last time he signed, and eventually it happened. With Salah and Van Dijk in particular, they are so desperate to stay that if there's going to be a collapse from any side on demands, maybe it will come from them and they'll just say, 'OK, I'll sign this.'
"From Liverpool's perspective, I can't see a world where they want to let the best player in the world go and the best centre-half in the world go. It would be arrogance to think that they could replace them for next season, so I still lean towards it getting done."
If Salah and Van Dijk were to sign extensions, perhaps Bradley could be given the opportunity to step up in the event Alexander-Arnold left the club, which would limit the amount of work that Liverpool would need to do in terms of incomings for the 2025-26 campaign.
Lewis Nolan
