Arne Slot insists Liverpool will “wait for the right moment” to add to their squad as the head coach details plans for the January transfer window
22:30, 16 Jan 2026Updated 22:32, 16 Jan 2026
Arne Slot has outlined Liverpool’s transfer approach for the January window(Image: )
Arne Slot insists Liverpool will “wait for the right moment” to add to their squad as the head coach refused to rule out strengthening before the January transfer window closes.
Season-ending injuries to Giovanni Leoni and more recently Conor Bradley have led to some calls for the Reds to bolster their defensive ranks.
But summer target Marc Guehi – who had a medical on deadline day before Crystal Palace pulled the plug on a £35m deal – is now heading to Manchester City for £20m.
READ MORE: Liverpool transfer stance explained as Marc Guehi set to join Man City for £20mREAD MORE: Arne Slot issues Liverpool transfer statement as Man City make Marc Guehi move
City have already signed Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo, who was also linked with a move to the defending champions.
Instead, Liverpool’s winter window activity so far has been at Academy level, where they have brought in Senegal youth international Mor Talla Ndiaye from Amitie in his homeland and are closing in on a deal for Austria, Ifeanyi Ndukwe.
Slot was typically coy when asked about bolstering his ranks this month but said he, sporting director Richard Hughes and others in charge of recruitment, are all on the same page about the potential to act.
“Are we less stretched in attack, then? I am a bit surprised people are talking like this,” Slot said when asked about the prospect of a defensive arrival this month.
“You think we have more options in the front? I am surprised people are so focused on our last line.
“We don’t have an injury in our midfield so that is the line we don’t have them but I think I have said it in the press conference but I can say it one more time.
“Everyone is aligned, everyone knows what the challenges are, and we all agree but that is not to say there is no possibility for us to act because as you know this club has always waited for the right moment and never from a position of panic.
“We always do the right things at the right moment. The one who was here before me had some issues at the back as well in a certain season.
“If the right player arrives for multiple reasons no matter what the position in our team – it could be last line, midfield or attack – then we will act.
“If not we do it with the players we have because Wata (Wataru Endo) has come back now as well. At this moment there are only three players who are out with long-term injuries (Leoni, Bradley and Alexander Isak).
“[We won’t move] unless it’s an opportunity or a chance in the market, but I think we have shown in this window or in the summer how we act. That has been meticulous and a very detailed process that is not done in two weeks but over a long period of time but then we act at the right moment.
“But if there is an opportunity in the market or if things get even worse, we can have a different situation.”
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On the prospect of players leaving this month, Slot added: “I think this club has always shown, similar to bringing players in, that we never say no.
“This club has always shown that if another club makes the right offer – and we think it is the right offer and a good offer, and I don’t include only me, I include the sporting directors and our owners – then we can make a decision we all agree on.
“But at this moment in time, we are working with the players we have. So that is something you know how this club works too.
“I don’t think at other clubs, I have said many times, months ago, that everyone is talking about our £450m spend and everyone is forgetting we sold for £300m. And I cannot blame anyone because I think we, Liverpool, are quite an exception to selling.
“Usually most Premier League clubs only buy and that is why it is such an unbelievable accomplishment. It is so well run this club so it can perform at the level it has in recent years.”