The 2022 Africa Cup of Nations will start on the 10th of next month, and the most distressing is probably Liverpool, who are currently second in the Premier League. Klopp's team has Mane from Senegal, Salah from Egypt, Keita from Guinea and Matip from Cameroon, and the entire central axis will be transferred to their respective national teams. To this end, Liverpool plan to strengthen the squad in the winter window to avoid a slide in the record next month.
The forward line is Liverpool's first choice for reinforcements, after all, the departure of Mane and Salah has a great impact on their attacking power. According to the Liverpool Echo, the Reds are paying close attention to three more "unpopular" forward players. One is Leeds United's Rafinha, where the 25-year-old Brazilian winger has played well in 8 goals and 11 assists in 38 appearances for the team last season. With seven goals and one assist in 14 appearances this season, he is currently worth 32 million euros. West Ham winger Bowen, who is the same age and position, has contributed 4 goals and 6 assists in 23 appearances this season, and is one of the key players in the team's top four. Now Bowen is worth 30 million euros, and Liverpool has been in contact with him as early as this summer.
In addition to the above two, Liverpool are also keeping a close eye on Real Madrid winger Rodrigo. The 20-year-old Brazilian, who also plays on the right side, currently scores 2 goals and 3 assists in 20 appearances in all competitions, and is an important rotation player under An Shuai. With president Florentino seeing him as the future of Real Madrid, it will be difficult for Liverpool to sign him.
Midfield is also particularly important for Liverpool, and even if Keita does not play in the Africa Cup of Nations, his contract is only more than a year left. The contracts of Milner and Chamberlain in the team are also about to expire, and the young player Jones is still immature, and the departure of the big general Wijnaldum this summer has not been able to replenish, so reinforcements are a top priority.
Portugal international Sanchez has always been Liverpool's main target, but his price of 30 million euros has made the deal difficult to close. Barcelona's 17-year-old midfielder Garvey is deeply loved by Klopp, but Liverpool need to spend around 45 million euros in liquidated damages to sign him.
As for Liverpool's backline, even if Matip leaves, Klopp still has Van Dijk, Gomez, Phillips and Conat in charge, and the impact is not large.