Liverpool News Roundup: Attacking target set to join Barcelona, Reds closing in on a €60million move for winger, and more -  January 28, 2022

With the January transfer window currently open, Premier League side Liverpool have the chance to strengthen their squad for the second half of the season.

The Reds are currently nine points behind Manchester City in the race for the Premier League title, with one game in hand. Jurgen Klopp's men will hope to cut down on the gap Pep Guardiola's side have opened up on them in the coming weeks.

The Merseyside club put in a dogged display against Crystal Palace on Sunday to emerge 3-1 winners on the road. They now have a short break and will not play until the first week of February when they face Cardiff City in the FA Cup.

On that note, here's a look at the key transfer stories revolving around the Reds as of January 28, 2022.

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Jurgen Klopp nominated for manager of the month award

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been nominated for the manager of the month award as the Reds have dropped points in only one league game all month.

Pep Guardiola, Dean Smith and Bruno Lage are the other managers to have been nominated.

Liverpool’s rivals Manchester City also dropped points in just one game all January as they were held by Southampton just before the winter break.

Smith’s arrival saw an upturn in form for Norwich as they climbed out of the bottom three.

Lage’s Wolves, on the other hand, have won four out of their last five games and are knocking on the door for a Champions League spot.

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Adama Traore will not be moving to Liverpool

Barcelona have agreed a deal to sign Adama Traore from Wolves. The Spaniard is a La Masia graduate, but had to move elsewhere for senior football.

After progressing well at Wolves, Barcelona have returned for the winger. Traore will reportedly join on a loan deal with the option of making it permanent in the summer.

It remains to be seen how Traore will perform in the second half of the season for the Blaugrana.

Liverpool, for now, will not be getting their hands on the 26-year-old. The Reds have shown some interest in him in the past, so it remains to be seen if they will return for him in the summer. That, of course, depends on whether or not Barcelona decide to sign him.

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Trippier explains why Atletico played defensively against Liverpool

In a bit of a throwback to the two sides’ clash in the knockout stages of the 2019-20 season of the Champions League, Kieran Trippier has explained why Atletico Madrid played defensively against the Reds.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was annoyed with the way Atletico Madrid played deep in their own half despite boasting talented players.

Trippier responded by saying Diego Simeone played to the strengths of his team as they could not have gone toe-to-toe against Liverpool:

“It’s a bit unfair. Simeone has been so successful over the last 11 years. He’s won eight trophies. I understand where Klopp is coming from, but if you’re playing at Anfield you can’t go toe-to-toe with them because you’ll get punished,” Trippier told the Athletic.

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Liverpool close to agreeing a deal for Luis Diaz

The Athletic have reported Liverpool are close to agreeing a €60million deal plus add-ons with Porto for winger Luis Diaz.

Although Diaz has a release clause of €80 million with the Portuguese side, Porto are willing to open negotiations for a fee below that.

The 25-year old has been in scintillating form for Porto this season, and is being seen as a direct replacement for Sadio Mane at Liverpool.

Tottenham Hotspur were also interested but Liverpool seem to have the upper hand at the moment based on reports from Athletic.

Diaz has scored 14 goals in the league for Porto this season, just one strike behind Darwin Nunez on the goal-scoring charts.