With Julian Ward taking over the reins from Richard Hughes, one question has to come to the fore: who will be the Liverpool sporting director’s first signing?
And could the Reds bolster a squad still in clear need of some shaping in the upcoming January transfer window?
If the Premier League giants are to dip their toes in the water, will it be to fund the arrival of a naturally right-sided winger? Or perhaps to pour salt into a still-open wound by snapping up Chelsea target Lamine Camara?
The case for Julian Ward making Lamine Camara his mission this January
Don’t get us wrong, we think Liverpool would look a stronger outfit had Yankuba Minteh be secured in the summer. Right now, it’s painfully obvious that we’re a little lopsided in attack; even if some valiant efforts have been made on the right flank on occasion this term. But you get the sense (or, at least, we do) that something is slowly building here in the front four.
On the other hand, one area that could do with some serious investment at the next available opportunity is – drum roll, please… the midfield.
READ MORE: Trey Nyoni wants to do something Gravenberch & Szoboszlai don’t like at Liverpool
Five games into the league season, it remains the most unbalanced aspect of the squad, with Liverpool lacking a willing sacrifice for the six position. Both Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch have more or less made it clear that they want nothing to do with the position and, apparently, with obeying the basic principle of “one hangs back while the other advances”.
And look, as exciting as Trey Nyoni (19) has looked in the position, Liverpool simply cannot rely on a developing teenager to shore up such a key position for an entire season. Frankly, we have some serious trepidation over the prospect of the former Leicester City prodigy picking up an abnormal amount of minutes here between now and the January transfer window.
So, if we’re going to talk about potential priorities for Ward in the coming months, we have to be putting Lamine Camara’s name up in lights.
Are Liverpool in pole position ahead of Chelsea?
According to The Athletic‘s James Pearce, Liverpool retain a strong interest in the Monaco midfielder following his collapsed move between the Ligue 1 outfit and Chelsea.
Gianluca Di Marzio (via CaughtOffside) also offered some hope in this department, noting that the Reds were a little concerned around Alexis Mac Allister’s long-term future. Though we suspect such concerns will be quickly waning, given that the Argentina international has, by some distance, been our best midfielder in 2026/27.
This all follows a strain of prior reporting that emphasised the Reds would have gone full throttle for Camara had they needed a midfielder (i.e. had Mac Allister left in the summer).
But the fact of the matter is this: Our World Cup-winning midfielder should be going nowhere anytime soon. We hope he’ll be going nowhere anytime soon. And regardless of what happens with Mac Allister, Liverpool still desperately need to sign a physical, mobile midfielder with plenty of senior experience playing a holding role.
It doesn’t have to be a traditional sits in front of the back and never moves six, but at least someone willing to play the role Andoni Iraola is looking for to complement a generally unbalanced midfield pivot.
Recent reports indicate that Liverpool won’t have a free run at Lamine Camara, with Chelsea still very much in the mix. Whether that still remains a genuine goer between the Blues and Monaco after the failed move on deadline day reportedly resulted in a “broken relationship” between the two clubs, however, is yet to be seen.
And if there’s any lasting bitterness on either side, one could argue that the deal’s already at least 50% done in Liverpool’s favour. Certainly, it’s something Julian Ward and his recruitment should take advantage of in January before either club can finish mending relations.
