3 reasons why Liverpool shouldn't sign anyone in January

#3 A big signing could disrupt the balance of the squad

Some past January signings - like Faustino Asprilla at Newcastle - have done more harm than good

If Liverpool were to go and splash the cash to bring a new superstar aboard in January, Reds fans might be happy initially, but there’s no guarantee that whoever they could bring in would necessarily be a positive influence. We’ve seen on numerous occasions before that signing players in January isn’t easy and doesn’t always add to a squad in the right way.

Lucas Moura, for instance, is now having tremendous success at Tottenham, but it took him until the start of 2018/19 to really kick into gear after struggling massively when he arrived last January. And Jurgen Klopp is renowned for making new players acclimatise to his style before giving them chances, as he did with Andrew Robertson and Fabinho. A big signing in January, therefore, might be largely unable to add to the Reds’ title chances.

That’d be the potential best-case scenario, though. We’ve also seen before that signing a big name in the January window can outright disrupt the balance of a squad and cause them to go downhill rather than uphill. We witnessed this to an extent when Manchester United brought in Alexis Sanchez last January, but of course, the most notorious example of this happened back in 1995/96.

In that season, Newcastle went into 1996 with a 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, a much bigger margin than Liverpool currently hold this season. When they signed Colombian striker Faustino Asprilla in the January window, he looked like the final piece of the puzzle.

But instead, he largely disrupted the balance of Kevin Keegan’s squad, caused some off-the-field problems, and Manchester United managed to overhaul the Magpies’ lead and steal away the title. Asprilla wasn’t entirely to blame, of course – but his signing was a clear turning point for Newcastle.

So in a similar situation, why would Klopp want to risk disrupting what appears to be a happy, harmonious squad, particularly when he doesn’t necessarily need to? For me, it’d be madness – and it’s a major reason why he shouldn’t sign anyone in the January window.