Liverpool’s Brendan Rodgers defends lack of transfer activity in January

Brendan Rodgers has defended Liverpool’s lack of transfer activity in the January window after missing out on Mohamed Salah and Yevhen Konoplyanka.

The Reds were widely tipped to land £16m-rated Konoplyanka after the club’s managing director Ian Ayre flew to Ukraine to hold talks with Dnipro earlier this week.

The availability of the player, and of course the affordability, are always the two factors involved in getting a player in

Brendan Rodgers

Brendan Rodgers admitted that the deal had become “a little complicated” in his pre-match media conference at Melwood on Friday – and the Reds failed to sign the winger before the transfer deadline.

Last weekend, Chelsea usurped their top-four rivals by landing long-term Reds target Salah in a £11m deal from Basel.

Despite a disappointing transfer window, Rodgers defended the club’s recruitment team and backed his squad to secure a long-awaited return to the Champions League.

“I think it’s difficult in order to bring certain players in that are going to help us immediately,” Rodgers told Liverpool’s website.

“The availability of the player, and of course the affordability, are always the two factors involved in getting a player in.

“It certainly hasn’t been because of a lack of work by the football club. There are lots of people who have worked tirelessly to identify and find the right types of players.

“A lot of those players haven’t been able to become available for us.”

He added: “Of course, as a manager, you would like to have strengthened – but I’m very optimistic with the group of players I still have available here.

“If we can keep those players fit, and maximise the availability for the rest of the season, we can have a great chance to have a really good finish.”