Liverpool finally bolstered their defensive options by signing Schalke’s Ozan Kabak and Preston’s Ben Davies before the Premier League transfer window slammed shut on Monday.
Meanwhile Premier League champions’ Japanese attacking midfielder Takumi Minamino left for Southampton on loan until the end of the season in one of the few moves between Premier League clubs on a quiet deadline day.
The January window is regarded as a sellers’ market and often a time for stop-gap measures but Liverpool were forced to act.
The champions are missing all of their senior central defenders, with Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip out of action.
Fabinho, who had impressed at centre-back after moving from his usual midfield position, recently joined the injured list while captain Jordan Henderson, who usually plays in midfield, has been forced to deputise at the back.
Japanese international Minamino departed Anfield for Southampton in a surprise move allowed to be completed…