In three days’ time the January transfer window opens. Safe to say there will be not be major calls for Liverpool to make signings.
After all, the Reds currently sit top of the Premier League, top of the Champions League and are through to the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
So, if any purchases are to be made, they will have to have the quality to make their mark on a Liverpool squad that as well as currently sweeping asides all comers, could be back to full strength by the time of Manchester United’s visit to Anfield on January 5.
Regardless, it’s been a hallmark of the Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot eras under owners FSG to wait for the right recruit.
But one time Klopp did look to cover a short-term lack of players was back in January 2016 when signing Steven Caulker, who turns 33 today, on loan. However, the then Reds boss would later publicly suggest he had acted hastily in adding to his ranks.
Suffering a defensive injury crisis at the time, Klopp had been left with veteran Kolo Toure as his only senior centre-back option available, with Dejan Lovren, Martin Skrtel and Mamadou Sakho all sidelined.
Midfielder Lucas Leiva was being tasked with fulfilling an unfamiliar role as a short-term fix, while the lesser-spotted Tiago Ilori and unwanted left-back Jose Enrique had been the centre-back pairing days before Caulker’s arrival against Exeter City in the FA Cup.
But a few weeks later, Klopp was boasting a plethora of options. “Now we have too many centre-halves,” the German conceded ahead of his side’s Europa League clash with Manchester United in March 2016.
“The day before we put the squad list in we didn’t have any. Now we have too many adnd you think: ‘My God what have we done?’
“That was the thing we had to do at that time. Now we have to get into the next round with the players we have available.”
Caulker made just four appearances during his time at Liverpool, amounting to only a handful of minutes in the Premier League, with the defender infamously being utilised as a makeshift striker on each occasion.
His only start, and only appearance at centre-back, came in an FA Cup draw with West Ham United at the end of January, while two unused substitute appearances in February were the closest he came to featuring during the remainder of his temporary Reds career.
Since his spell at Anfield, Caulker has spent time with a variety of clubs. He moved to Scotland to play for Dundee before enjoying a stint in Turkey with four different teams.
