Liverpool Confidential Q&A special: LEWIS STEELE reveals the wonderkid defender Reds are tracking, the truth about those Antoine Semenyo transfer request rumors and the latest on Alisson and Jeremie Frimpong’s injuries

It’s the international break – and for some of you Liverpool fans, that might be a good thing.

Many will be glad for a break after a dismal run of seven losses in 10 games. Others will be desperate for the Reds to return to action and put this terrible run behind them.

While we wait for that to happen, there are LOTS of talking points at Anfield, from contracts, transfers, tactics, Arne Slot’s future and just what on earth is going wrong on the pitch.

Our Merseyside man LEWIS STEELE answers 10 of your questions…

What are the odds on Liverpool making a signing in January?

The noises from Liverpool suggest it is more unlikely than likely at this stage – but that could, and perhaps should, change.

Potential moves for Marc Guehi, Antoine Semenyo and plenty of others have been mooted but there have been no significant moves on either… for January anyway.

Given the long-term injury to fourth-choice center back Giovanni Leoni, I think it is imperative that Liverpool sign another defender. It is not like it would be just for six months – they need another center half long term.

What happens if Virgil van Dijk or Ibrahima Konate get injured? A bad season could turn into a terrible one.

What’s the situation with Harvey Elliott?

It’s not good, is it?

For those who are not following his every move since his loan away from Liverpool, Elliott has not played a single minute in the Premier League since September 28 – and has not even been in Aston Villa’s squad in the last three games.

He is not injured, he is just not fancied by his new boss Unai Emery.

Confidential checked in on this recently and revealed that the 22-year-old’s permanent move to Villa is conditional. Although it was sold at the time as an obligation to buy, for £35 million, it actually depends on Elliott making a certain number of appearances, which is believed to be 10.

That explains why he is not featuring in Villa’s matchday squad.

So, can he be recalled? Yes. Will that happen? Possibly, but nothing is in the works yet. The current situation is not beneficial for anyone, certainly not Elliott or Villa, especially after he was the player of the tournament at the Under-21 European Championship in the summer.

If Slot were to be sacked – and I don’t want him to be – who would be the most likely contenders for the job?

For the avoidance of any doubt, Liverpool have 100 percent faith in Arne Slot and that has not decreased at all amid the recent tricky run of form. Notice how the boss did not shut down suggestions he was in talks over a new deal in his press conference a fortnight ago.

As a result, answering this question is merely a fun thought experiment. Back in 2023, when Jurgen Klopp announced he was leaving, the following were considered: Sebastian Hoeness (Stuttgart), Roberto De Zerbi (then Brighton, now Marseille), Michel (Girona), Ernesto Valverde (Athletic Bilbao) and Luciano Spalletti (then Italy, now Juventus).

They were on a longlist with the likes of Ruben Amorim and Slot. So maybe some of them would be back in the mix.

Oliver Glasner and Andoni Iraola are brilliant managers (Iraola’s former No. 2, Inigo Perez of Rayo Vallecano is well-liked in the industry, too). Zinedine Zidane is out of work and Vincent Kompany may fancy a return to the Premier League at some point, though likely with Manchester City.

But I ask you this: which one of them is better than Slot?

Exactly.

If you had to list Liverpool’s priorities for 2026 in order, what would they be?

Great question.

No. 1: Sign long-term replacements for Mo Salah and Van Dijk.

No. 2: Improve their defensive depth.

No. 3: Renew contracts of key stars, such as midfielders Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis McAllister.

Any news on those contracts for Mac Allister, Gravenberch or Szoboszlai?

All are on the agenda.

There is not much more to say other than talks are taking place over tying down some of the summer 2023 additions to long-term deals that represent their worth in the squad, with agents of all three eager for bigger contracts.

I asked Gravenberch about this last week when he was doing the pre-Real Madrid press conference and he side-stepped the question.

Liverpool need to resolve the contract situation around all three players as we know what Real Madrid and Co are like… they will be sniffing around before too long if the Reds are not careful.

How many holidays will Slot take this year?

Very funny.

Personally, I don’t see why there is a big problem with Arne Slot spending the last international break in Dubai, to be honest. It is not like he could have done much back in Liverpool as all of his players were jetting around the world with their national teams.

A mental break after a busy period was probably good for him. It certainly was last season – and it was not a problem then. It is not like Dubai is Mars, either… he does have WiFi and can study clips from there just as he would in his office at the AXA Training Centre.

Are we targeting any defenders other than Marc Guehi?

Yes, but Guehi is definitely still an option after a move on deadline day collapsed at the 11th hour… literally.

Talk of Real Madrid being keen on Guehi is not true at this stage.

A name that has cropped up is Ordonez… two of them. Joel Ordonez, at Club Bruges, has been scouted – as I have mentioned in this column before.

Fellow Ecuadorian Deinner Ordonez, who is coming through the prestigious academy at Independiente del Valle – the club that produced Kendry Paez, Piero Hincapie and Moises Caicedo – is also being watched by Liverpool and others including Chelsea.

The latter is one for the future but keep an eye on him. Youth scouts have mentioned him as the best player of his age-group in the whole of South America.

What’s the latest on Semenyo? What about midfielders?

I saw some rumors doing the rounds this week that Semenyo has handed in a transfer request at Bournemouth. I asked about that and was told it was not true.

Liverpool and others are certainly keen to sign him in the summer and it is understood the Cherries would ask for around £75 million – a fee that could rise if his early-season performances continue.

I can’t see Liverpool moving for Semenyo in January but we have seen in the past how they are prepared to ‘bring forward’ summer business in the winter window if it suits.

As for midfielders, those in the industry are expecting big tussles for Adam Wharton, Elliott Anderson and Carlos Baleba next summer — but no movement has been made on any yet. There’s a couple of guys in France Ligue 1 worth keeping an eye on, too…

Any injury update on Stefan Bajcetic, Jayden Dunns, Alisson or Jeremie Frimpong?

Bajcetic has been back on the grass at the AXA Training Center, which is a good sign after surgery in the summer. It remains the case that he could get some minutes for the Under 21s.

Danns’s injury sounds nasty, although he is said to be in good spirits. I don’t have a timescale yet and neither did Under 21s boss Rob Page the last time I asked him. It’s a great shame.

Alisson is hopeful of being back in the XI next week against Nottingham Forest, although Jeremie Frimpong will be out for a while longer.

On Frimpong, Confidential reported a fortnight ago how it would be at least six weeks out for the Netherlands international. Patience is needed with that one.

There are whispers the club is keen on Alessandro Bastoni. Is that true?

It’s a name that has cropped up in conversation when talking about potential targets for next summer so I would definitely not rule it out.

But there’s not much more to say right now about the rock-solid Inter Milan and Italy defender.