Liverpool transfer state of play: Branthwaite deal, Gordon interest and £30m done deal

There are just five days left of the summer transfer window and still Liverpool have not made any signings. They are expected to make at least one before Friday’s 11pm deadline but will they recruit at centre-back or in midfield? Express Sport looks at the state of play at Anfield...

Centre-back pursuit - Branthwaite in?

Liverpool allowed Sepp van den Berg to join Brentford for a tidy profit last week but that means 33-year-old captain Virgil van Dijk, the injury-prone Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah are their only senior centre-halves for the season. Nat Phillips is expected to leave.

The Reds were thought to be in the market for a left-footed centre-half 12 months ago but still have not signed one. They failed to convince Levi Colwill to leave Chelsea and were outmuscled financially for Leny Yoro this summer by Manchester United.

Another option is Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite, who Liverpool are known to admire. A towering presence who is dominant in the air plus only 22 and homegrown, Branthwaite ticks a lot of boxes as a long-term Van Dijk successor.

The hurdle is that he plays for Everton. A player has not left one of the Merseyside clubs to join the other for 22 years. Certainly no player of Branthwaite’s potential and price - likely £70million - has transferred between the teams. So late in the window, it is considered incredibly unlikely he joins.

Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace is another defender liked but he’s a right footer and would similarly cost £70m at least. Benfica’s Antonio Silva, Goncalo Inaco of Sporting and Bayer Leverkusen’s Piero Hincapie have also been looked at but any deal may have to wait until the next window.

The search for Zubimendi alternatives

Liverpool failed to tempt their top target - Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi - to leave his boyhood club and the stance after was that it was the Spaniard or nobody.

It is clear a No.6 is wanted and has been for some time, given previous failed pursuits of Aurelien Tchouameni, Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia. But despite a number of other names being mentioned as credible alternatives - such as Alan Varela and Ederson - it appears Arne Slot will have work with his current options instead. At least until January.

Ryan Gravenberch, Curtis Jones and Wataru Endo (in that order) will compete to partner the more attack-minded Alexis Mac Allister. Young Spaniard Stefan Bajcetic, a long-term solution for the position, could head to Spain on loan after missing almost all of last season injured.

Mamardashvili imminent

A £30million deal for Giorgi Mamardashvili is thought to be be very close. A deal for the Valencia and Georgia goalkeeper is at an advanced stage and he will spend the rest of this season on loan in La Liga.

Only minor details are thought to be left before the agreement is officially announced. Mamardashvili, 23, is seen as a long-term successor to 31-year-old Alisson although the Brazilian has declared he’d happily sign a new contract at Anfield to keep him beyond 2027.

Late Anthony Gordon deal?

One of the big stories of Liverpool’s summer was that they were deep in discussions with Newcastle over a £75million move for winger Anthony Gordon. Joe Gomez would’ve joined the Magpies in a separate deal worth £45m.

Newcastle ultimately sold other players to raise crucial funds and kept hold of star man Gordon. But the England international, 23, is a boyhood Liverpool fan and Eddie Howe says an exit is not impossible before the deadline.

“What I will say is from my part and the club’s part we will do everything we can to keep our best players but I am not a fortune teller,” Howe said.

Yet the fact Newcastle would likely demand a club-record fee from Liverpool - in the region of £100m - makes it highly improbable given they have multiple forward options already.

Instead, revisiting the deal next summer when Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz could depart seems distinctly more plausible.

More exits in final week

Liverpool's outgoing business has largely been done already but centre-back Phillips is available for sale, while Bajcetic could go out on loan. Winger Ben Doak could leave either on loan or permanently, at the right price.

Following the sales of academy talents Bobby Clark and Harvey Blair, midfielder Tyler Morton could be moved on for a healthy fee too. Forward Kaide Gordon could be loaned out to an EFL club.