Despite a couple of stalemates against Leicester City and West Ham United, Liverpool still have a stronghold in the Premier League title race. Jurgen Klopp, the Reds chief, invested heavily last summer in adding depth, quality and versatility, but a few departures and injury blows led to the resurfacing of a shallowness once again within the squad.
Although Klopp opted not to splash the cash in January, the German should be eyeing reinforcements upon completion of the ongoing campaign. If a report from French outlet Le10Sport (via TEAMtalk) is believed to be true, then the Reds are plotting a swoop for Barcelona outcast Malcom and have entered the race alongside Tottenham Hotspur and clubs in China.
The 21-year old Brazilian was roped in by the Catalans back in July for a reported fee of around €41m after a stunning spell with Bordeaux. But the winger has found minutes hard to come by having made only one league start so far. Most of his appearances have been from the dugout, and the out-of-favour attacker must be seeking a key role elsewhere to continue his growth.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are blessed to have a lethal front trio of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino who are banging goals week in week out across competitions. Xherdan Shaqiri has done a decent job so far while being rotated high up the pitch whereas Harry Wilson, currently on loan at Derby County, has made significant strides in the second tier under Frank Lampard’s tutelage.
Wilson, however, prefers to operate from the right flank and could be a part of the senior side from the next season onwards. With Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi both likely to depart in the summer, Liverpool should recruit at least one outright centre-forward to inject more firepower in their attacking third.
Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, both have excelled as ‘number 9′ under Jurgen Klopp and the luxury of having Shaqiri and Wilson would allow the Egyptian to spearhead the Reds’ attack. Malcom, too, is comfortable down the right wing. Therefore, he would be surplus to requirements at Anfield.
The club should invest in someone capable of featuring on the left to challenge Sadio Mane. This one slot lacks genuine competition and must be prioritised in case the Merseysiders have already planned to invest on a wide attacker. Malcom won’t be having assured game-time instantly even if a move to Liverpool takes place in the forthcoming future and this particular transfer is not at all a priority right now for the parties involved.
