Liverpool's slow start is forcing a rethink

Six matches in and Liverpool are sitting ninth in the Premier League, still searching for a way to play under Andoni Iraola after a chastening 3-0 defeat at home to Manchester City. It is not where anyone wanted to be, and the pressure on the Spaniard to find answers is already real. His summer window was modest by most measures, Victor Munoz, Ronald Araujo and Bradley Barcola arrived, and it is becoming clearer by the week that the squad may need further reinforcement before the season slips away.

The January transfer window, then, feels less like a theoretical option and more like a genuine necessity. Two stories breaking simultaneously suggest Iraola knows exactly where he wants to strengthen, and one of them carries a remarkably sentimental twist.

Bournemouth's price tag for Scott is now on the table

Alex Scott was a target for Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United during the summer, but Bournemouth refused to budge. That position has shifted. Following talks with the midfielder's representatives, the Cherries are now open to a sale, with a £100m asking price the figure that would move things along. BBC Sport report that Liverpool are believed to be well-placed to win the race despite the competition.

The Scott link carries an extra layer of intrigue given that it was Iraola himself who signed the 23-year-old England international at Bournemouth back in 2023, with Scott making 89 appearances under the Spaniard. He knows the player inside out, and that familiarity is no small thing when you are trying to build a midfield identity from scratch. There is one complication: Scott is currently sidelined with a thigh injury picked up on international duty and is not expected to return until November, which may actually suit a January move rather than complicate it.

The Trent door is creaking open again

The more eyebrow-raising development concerns Trent Alexander-Arnold. He departed for Real Madrid in the summer to considerable fanfare, yet six months on he has started just three of their eight league fixtures. With Jose Mourinho preferring Denzel Dumfries at right-back, the Merseyside-born full-back finds himself on the periphery at the Bernabeu.

Now, according to SER Deportivos, Madrid are reportedly interested in Tottenham's Pedro Porro. The Spaniard is said to be keen to explore whether that interest is genuine, with Barcelona also said to have enquired about him. Should Porro end up at Madrid, the logic follows that Alexander-Arnold's path back towards the exit door opens considerably wider. Liverpool's situation at right-back has not exactly helped dismiss the idea either, Conor Bradley has been troubled by injury and Jeremie Frimpong, signed for £30m, has struggled to convince since his arrival.

What a busy January could mean for this Liverpool side

Two potential arrivals. One a manager's personal project, the other a homecoming that would dominate every back page from here to February. Neither is done, neither is close to done, and plenty could unravel before a single contract is signed. A £100m fee for Scott is a significant commitment for a club still finding its feet under a new manager, and the Porro-to-Madrid domino has to fall before any Trent conversation even begins in earnest.

But the picture being painted here is of a club actively identifying the moves it believes can turn a difficult early-season spell into something far more promising. Iraola came to Liverpool with a plan; January may be where that plan gets its sharpest definition yet.