The startling swap transfer deal Liverpool are linked with - and why it answers the wrong questions

Whatever your review of Liverpool’s surprisingly quiet summer transfer window, it increasingly looks as though Arne Slot wants to undo the two most pivotal pieces of work that they did (or didn’t) do.

Rumours suggest that not only are Liverpool keen to make a second bid for Real Sociedad midfielder Martín Zubimendi, who turned them down flat when they made a move back at the end of August, but reports in Italy claim that several sides are considering a January move for Federico Chiesa, whose persistent fitness problems may be frustrating the club that paid £12.5m for him at the end of the last transfer window.

Slot himself has quashed such stories, claiming that the thought of letting Chiesa leave just 78 minutes into his Liverpool career hadn’t even crossed his mind – but still the claims that clubs such as AC Milan are interested continue to flow from the continental rumour mill.

The latest story, which was picked up on by Sport Witness on Monday, suggests that not only are Milan ready to make a move for Chiesa, but that they might even offer to solve Liverpool’s defensive midfield problem by making the injury-raddled forward part of a package which would send Dutch international Tijjani Reijnders the other way.

The 26-year-old is, the report continues, Slot’s second choice if he can’t persuade Zubimendi to change his mind – something which the Spanish media believe is possible given Sociedad’s disappointing form and Liverpool’s ascent to the top of the Premier League table. But should that prove impossible, Reijnders could, perhaps, be another option.

Whether he really is a serious consideration for the holding midfield slot or if this is just a case of the Milanese media getting overexcited isn’t clear. Slot and Reijnders have worked together before – they were at AZ Alkmaar together when the midfielder was just breaking into the fringes of the first team, although he only spent 41 minutes on the pitch while Slot was in charge. Even Chiesa has managed more than that.

Regardless of whether the connection is tenuous or not, there are reasons to raise an eyebrow. Slot appears to be keen to find someone who can play the holding role at the base of a three-man midfield, a position that Liverpool have mostly shoehorned Alexis Mac Allister into over the past two seasons. With Slot seemingly unconvinced of the qualities of Wataru Endo, the only natural defensive midfielder on the books at Anfield, the idea is presumably to find a naturally conservative player who can protect the back line more efficiently than those currently at the club’s disposal.

Reijnders, however, is not a holding midfielder. Although sometimes described as a defensive midfielder, he plays as part of a double pivot at AC Milan and is a rather more attacking player by nature, looking to get forward and attack the channels when able and spending less time tracking back and protecting an area than a player like Endo or, indeed, Zubimendi. When asked to play a slightly more conservative role for the Netherlands at Euro 2024, Reijnders turned in up-and-down performances.

Maybe Reijnders could, like Mac Allister before him, adapt to the position, but he isn’t a player who forces high volumes of turnovers or makes lots of tackles. He hasn’t demonstrated the attributes required to fill the void that has been there since Fabinho’s form fell away.

In other words, while Reijnders would be a perfectly fine acquisition for a club like Liverpool based on his playmaking skill, passing accuracy, technique and ability to contribute effectively in the final third, he isn’t the number six that they seem to want, and Liverpool are not short of slightly more forward-thinking central midfielders. On that level alone, a part-exchange deal makes little sense unless the terms are remarkably favourable.

Which puts the other question into the spotlight – will Liverpool really move on from Chiesa already? His recovery from his latest injury setback may well provide the answer to that question, because while signing him for such a low price seemed like a bargain at the time, it’s a waste of money if he never plays. Past a certain point, it’s not unreasonable to let another club take that risk on.

That’s especially true if Liverpool look like maintaining a title challenge come the end of January. A player who isn’t able to contribute, even if no fault of their own, is best sent elsewhere and his wages recovered, and is does seem as though most other rumours about Chiesa’s future hinge on his heading out on loan, at least initially. That would free up cash and squad space to find another forward who can score the necessary goals.

Hopefully, Chiesa will be back in a red shirt before too long and Liverpool will at least get a few weeks to see what he can do when fit and firing, and a chance to get some information before they make a decision. But either way, we’re highly sceptical that the alleged swap deal is really on the table, or at least under any serious consideration. Not only would it fail to fill the gaps in the squad up front and in midfield, but it would presumably see Liverpool spend money for a player who plays another role entirely. It’s an interesting idea, and may speak to several truths about Liverpool’s transfer plans, but on paper this specific move that seems like it answers the wrong questions.