Five players who could join Liverpool in January

Tom Weber

Updated: 3 Dec 2025 18:10 GMT
4 min read

Marc Guehi, Crystal Palace, 2025/26 — © IMAGO

Liverpool will have to dip into the January market after a poor start to the season.

Article continues under the video

The Reds headed into the 2025/26 Premier League campaign as the defending champions, but their title defence, if one can even call it that, has been pitiful. Despite a summer of record spending - or perhaps because of it - Liverpool have struggled to perform at the expected level.

The Anfield club are miles off the pace domestically, with the defence particularly worrying. Missing out on Marc Guehi in the summer appears to have doomed Liverpool's season.

However, all is not lost. The January window will offer the Reds the chance to rectify past mistakes and attempt to salvage this season. Below, FootballTransfers looks at five players who could join Liverpool in the winter window...

Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace)

The obvious one, of course, is Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi, whose move to Merseyside collapsed at the 11th hour in the summer transfer window.

Guehi will be out of contract at the end of the season and is able to negotiate a pre-agreement with non-British clubs in January. This means that unless Liverpool act immediately, there is a serious risk of missing out on the England star for good.

However, a mid-season transfer may not appeal to the centre-back, given that he is an undisputed starter at Palace in a World Cup year. Moreover, a free transfer in the summer would allow him to get a much more lucrative deal for himself.

Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth)

Another fairly obvious one is Bournemouth superstar Antoine Semenyo, who is known to be on Liverpool's radar for the January transfer window due to his brilliant performances.

The Ghana international has a €74 million release clause that needs to be triggered in the first couple of weeks of the window to allow Bournemouth to source an adequate replacement.

However, Liverpool are far from the only club potentially desperate enough to attempt a big-money swoop for Semenyo, as Tottenham are also in the mix to sign him.

Rodrygo (Real Madrid)

Liverpool were briefly linked with a summer move for Real Madrid winger Rodrygo, but nothing ultimately came of it as the Brazilian decided to stay in Spain.

However, his situation under Xabi Alonso is bleak. Mostly a substitute, Rodrygo is struggling to perform in his limited minutes, and a transfer in 2026 is looking increasingly inevitable.

That said, it may be very difficult to sign him in January, especially considering that the winger is expected to command a fee in the region of €100m.

Iliman Ndiaye (Everton)

Liverpool were recently linked with a shock move for Iliman Ndiaye, who has been starring for city rivals Everton since joining the club in 2024.

Several top clubs, including the Reds, are said to have enquired about the versatile attacker, but crossing the city divide would be a hugely controversial move.

Everton have no intention to sell, especially to their rivals, so this appears to be one that ought to be filed under the 'unrealistic' category.

Kees Smit (AZ)

A significantly more realistic signing is that of AZ wonderkid Kees Smit, who could be on the move as early as January, as he is being chased by most of Europe's top clubs.

The Netherlands youngster has been a breakout star in the Eredivisie for some time, and it is only a question of when, not if, he joins one of the biggest clubs in the world.

Liverpool are among the midfielder's admirers, although bolstering the middle of the park is not the most urgent priority for the club's recruitment chiefs.

The FootballTransfers app

Check out FootballTransfers' new app for all of football's big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.

The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:

•Google Play

•App Store