Liverpool set to agree transfer FOUR years in the making | OneFootball

Liverpool fans will be aware that some pieces of transfer business take longer to complete.

We've seen it countless times over the years, with FSG struggling to identify someone who fits both the team's profile and their financial model. Often, you'll see squad players adapted to cover roles.

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One primary example is the defensive midfielder position, that still hasn't really been recruited in yet.

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Ryan Gravenberch has taken on the role and Curtis Jones as well as midfield veteran Wataru Endo have been fielded there and succeeded, but you would struggle to consider any of them a real No. 6.

We'll have to wait and see if the Reds eventually decided to recruit in the position, but another significant role in the squad might finally be getting the attention it deserves in the transfer market.

The centre-back draught is over

Just a few days after Anfield Watch claimed that two centre-backs should be signed this summer instead of just one of the two main targets, we received some movement regarding our recruitment.

To say there had been a drought in this particular window would be unfair. Liverpool fans have been spoilt this summer. But even despite the club's nearly £300m spend, you felt as though more work still needed to be done in order to not leave Arne Slot's squad short of options in key areas.

So while the Alexander Isak story rolls on in the background, with a stalemate taking place between Liverpool and Newcastle, the Reds decided to temporarily focus away from their main striker target.

On Tuesday, it was revealed by Fabrizio Romano and other reliable journalists that not only are Liverpool in serious negotiations to sign Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi AND Parma's Giovanni Leoni.

The Englishman is 26 years old and it appears as though a deal worth around £35m could be reached, which would be a phenomenal piece of business since he's a Premier League captain.

Furthermore, he was available for £70m in January, and so while the passage of time has reduced his fee, since he'll be leaving the Eagles on a free next summer, we're getting a half-price deal.

And then we come to the Italian in Leoni, an 18-year-old protege available for roughly £30m, to bolster the team that bit more, with the promise of becoming a serious player over the next few years.

Of course, signing two centre-backs is a significant development in and of itself, since the Reds need them both to add depth and further security to their back-line which has recently been weak.

But the two signings, with appear to be inevitable now, will break a four year drought for Liverpool.

Ibrahima Konate was the last centre-back we signed, arriving to Merseyside in 2021, which is a hell of a long time when you consider the circumstances. Joel Matip departed in 2024 and that then left Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah as depth for Virgil Van Dijk and the Frenchman last season.

Throughout that campaign, Gomez was absent quite a lot through injury, and Quansah struggled to be a positive difference-maker for the team, after having a really promising breakout season prior.

The latter was moved on this summer in a move to Bayer Leverkusen and since then, Liverpool had been staring down the barrel of playing with two reliable centre-backs. But this blockbuster transfer update has completely changed the mood around the club after the disappointment of Sunday.

Spending £300m on players and still having positions to address was a particularly mind-boggling state for the fans to be in. Although now that a lot of sales have been made, bringing the net spend down to less than £100m, the club has now recognised the need to not leave themselves short.

It's enough to make you sit back in awe at how Liverpool have composed themselves and bossed this summer transfer window. It's been a masterclass in squad turnover and high-level negotiating.

Guehi and Leoni will hopefully be wrapped up in a few days and then Isak will be the last remaining target to try and get over the line, but regardless, this window has been a clinic in recruitment.