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The red half of Merseyside has been an immensely active body in the transfer market in the last decade and numerous upmarket names of the times have often been linked to Liverpool.
The preceding summer transfer window has been an immensely successful one for the Reds as they emphatically clinched the signings of some of the biggest names around. A gigantic outlay of £177 million saw the likes of Naby Keita, Fabinho, Xherdan Shaqiri, and Alisson Becker all come in before the start of the season.
Predominately, Brazilian acrobatic shot-stopper Alisson's signing came as a pure statement of intent who landed at Anfield for a club record transfer fee of £67 million.
However, upmarket and highly rated athletes getting linked with a potential move to the Merseyside is not been a new trend at all, as Liverpool have been immensely agile in the transfer market and therefore, Anfield has remained one of the most lucrative destinations.
However, there has been a number of genuine transfer targets that the Reds have missed out on. In fact, there is a long list of players who have come very close to joining the Reds but certain reasons have meant the deals couldn't materialise.
On that note, we take a look at the top 5 players that Liverpool has missed out on:
#5 Yevhen Konoplyanka
Ukrainian forward Yevhen Konoplynka's £16 million move to Anfield back in 2014 was largely getting applauded as the case of 'when' not 'if'. However, they failed to avail his signature at the last moment as the Ukranian forward later moved to Spanish outfit Sevilla from Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.
Konoplyanka himself did show regret for the failed move and insisted,
"I am sorry I didn't join Liverpool when they wanted me but this Europa League final will help me get over that!"
The then Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers got lured by Konoplynka's impressive showings for Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk and the Ukranian was all set to become Reds' only addition in January transfer window of 2014.
The forward had agreed on the terms with Liverpool and members of Liverpool's medical team travelled to Ukraine but despite all this, Dnipro's president, Ihor Kolomoyskyi denied to sanction the player's move and the deal was eventually collapsed.
#4 Gylfi Sigurdsson
Iceland's star and current Everton playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson was once on the Red's priority list when Brendon Rodgers took charge of the managerial duties at the red half of Merseyside.
The Merseyside outfit had opened talks with Bundesliga side Hoffenheim for Gylfi Sigurdsson back in 2012 and the Northern Irish tactician had openly displayed his desire to bring the midfielder to Anfield.
"If he comes into the market for whatever reason - and I'm sure there'll be a number of clubs interested in Gylfi - then, of course, I would like to be in a position to put our case here at Liverpool to sign him,"
In the previous season, Rodgers and Sigurdsson had combined well at Swansea, during which the playmaker netted 7 league goals after joining on loan during the second half of that season.
Sigurdsson was expected to work under his former manager once again by prompting a move from Hoffenheim but instead, he preferred a £8.8 million move to Reds' league rivals Tottenham.
#3 Nabil Fekir
Lyon's captain and French World Cup winner Nabil Fekir's probable move to Liverpool at the start of this season perhaps became one of the most tedious transfer sagas in Premier League's history.
It was previously reported the 25-year-old had agreed on personal terms and was set to be unveiled as the Reds' new recruit with the image of Fekir's interview with Liverpool's TV channel leaked on social media.
But the French outfit sensationally put an end to their captain's prolonged transfer story via twitter as they realised the following statement:
Philippe Coutinho's mega move to Barcelona did create a vacancy for a playmaker and in order to fill the Brazilian's void, Nabil Fekir was targeted by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.
While Liverpool tried to renegotiate the deal, Olympique Lyon's adamant stance did create issues in the Reds' way and the £52 million deal sensationally got collapsed. However, Liverpool then made a swoop for Swiss attacking star Xherdan Shaqiri (not necessarily as an alternative to Fekir) to add creative quality to their squad.
#2 Mario Gomez
It is strange to have the German powerhouse on this list but a World Cup winner in 2014, Mario Gomez was once very close to joining to Liverpool.
Back in 2010, when Gomez was in electrifying form, the German emerged as a top target for the Anfield club but his then employers Bayern Munich were reluctant to offload their star striker.
After his failed move to the Merseyside, Gomez himself revealed that he was indeed very close to joining Liverpool and insisted,
"I have said that if I leave Bayern I will go abroad," Gomez told Bild.
"Then came this interesting offer from Liverpool. I took the loan offer seriously and discussed it with my family and girlfriend because I just want to play.
"But Bayern gave me the impression that they see a future for me. And therefore a change was not an issue anymore."
With Torres moving to Chelsea in January, Mario Gomez could have been a wonderful replacement for the Spaniard but perhaps this was another deal which couldn't materialise.
#1 Dani Alves
Barcelona's former electrifying right back and current Paris Saint-Germain man, Dani Alves astonishingly was very close to joining Liverpool from Sevilla back in 2006.
The current 35-year old was been linked with a move to Merseyside when Rafael Benitez was in managerial charge of the club but the deal fell at the final stages of negotiation.
It was revealed by the Brazillian himself about how close he came to joining Liverpool in 2006:
“I pretty much had an agreement with Liverpool. But for whatever reason it didn’t happen at the last moment and I really don’t know why, as I wasn’t the one conducting the negotiations. I had other people representing me back then.
Alves was superb during his time at Sevilla as the club secured back-to-back UEFA Cup triumphs. But later it was Barcelona who snatched the opportunity to sign the Brazillian and the rest is history.
