Liverpool are monitoring Danish right-back Anton Gaaei, 22, and Belgian forward Mika Godts, 19, as well as their Ajax team-mate, 18-year-old Netherlands defender Jorrel Hato. (TBR Football), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column
Ciaran Varley
BBC Sport Journalist
Image source, Getty ImagesLiverpool's Champions League semi-final second-leg comeback win over Barcelona in 2019 will go down as one of the greatest Anfield night in the club's history.
With the Reds needing to overcome a 3-0 deficit from the first leg and missing key players like Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, it looked like a fait accompli before kick-off that Lionel Messi's Barca side would stride into the final.
However, an aggressive press, a raucous crowd and goals from Divock Origi and substitute Georginio Wijnaldum left the Catalan side bewildered.
In a new Amazon Prime documentary, Klopp reveals what he told his team before the game.
"We asked the players to close their eyes for 10 seconds and imagine the best game you've ever played in your life," he says. "It can be a youth game, it can be when you were 10 years old. Then they opened their eyes again and I said: 'And that's exactly the performance we need again today'."
The win was sealed when Alexander-Arnold caught Barcelona napping and delivered a quick corner for Origi to guide home. Klopp reveals the whole thing happened so quickly that it passed him by.
"That moment I had no clue who took the corner," he says. "That's the truth. I look around, Divock hits the ball and it goes into the net."
The Belgium striker became a cult Kop figure under Klopp, with a reputation for scoring important goals in big games, often as a substitute.
In December 2018, he capitalised on an error by Everton keeper Jordan Pickford to nod in a winner in the 96th-minute of the Merseyside derby, sending the Kop into pandemonium and earning his manager a fine after the German sprinted onto the pitch to celebrate.
However, former midfielder Adam Lallana claims in the documentary that the Origi had no idea at the time how significant his goal was.
"I remember looking at Divock and thinking: 'I'm not sure you know the score'.,I think he thought he equalised," says the Southampton midfielder.
Footage of the moment does show Origi running to retrieve the ball, as if to accelerate the restart.
"Divock was a little bit like that," says Lallana. "At times, he was away with the fairies."
Ciaran Varley
BBC Sport Journalist
Image source, Getty ImagesEver since signing for Liverpool in the summer of 2022 for an initial £64m, Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez has been under scrutiny.
The 25-year-old registered 11 Premier League goals and eight assists last season, with much conversation around some of the chances he missed.
"With social media and how the world is now, these players go through moments when it's like the whole world has an opinion," says former Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders in a new Amazon Prime documentary.
"For players nowadays, it's really important that that cannot take the confidence away."
In a filmed conversation between the Dutch coach and Nunez, Lijnders tells the striker: "Some players are just about scoring, but you're becoming more and more of an assist-provider, but I still think you've got so much to offer."
Which Liverpool player has won possession the most times this season?
Ryan Gravenberch would be a popular and correct answer. His winning of the ball 146 times leads from a player who few would instinctively select.
Second on the list - despite social media snippets and memes on how many times he has been dribbled past - is a certain Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The full-back, so often derided for his defending, must be doing something right given he has regained possession on 118 occasions. That puts him ahead of scurrying midfielder Alexis Mac Allister (112) and the galloping Dominik Szobozslai (106).
So where does the critical narrative come from?
Alexander-Arnold, 26, is of course out of contract this summer. Wherever his future takes him, the 'dribbled past' label is one he could do with shaking off. Does it carry weight? In a word, yes.
This season an opponent has gone past him 51 times. For Liverpool, Mac Allister sits second in that unwanted metric on 38, before a substantial drop. Bradley - who of course challenges Alexander-Arnold at right-back - has been passed seven times with a dribble.
On top of that, according to Opta data, Alexander-Arnold has only won around 20% of his aerial duels, with Bradley at 71%. Ibrahima Konate (76%), Gravenberch (75%) and Virgil van Dijk (71%) stand well clear, with left-back Andy Robertson on a lowly (26%), much like Alexander-Arnold.
When mapping the number of errors leading to a shot, Alexander-Arnold also tops the pile on four, two clear of captain Van Dijk.
In truth, the data paints a confusing picture of a player who opposition teams seem to target. This allows him to win possession back a lot for the Reds but opens him up to a greater number of dribbles, errors and aerial challenges.
It appears, from the numbers at least, he remains a defender under pressure. His manager, team-mates and a supportive fanbase will however continue to point to his attacking output.
In a competition where Mohamed Salah has his own ball to play with at the top of the rankings, Alexander-Arnold has created the second highest number of chances and is also second for assists at Liverpool.
He embodies risk and reward. The league table currently points to the Reds coming out on the right side of the equation.
Ciaran Varley
BBC Sport Journalist
Image source, Getty ImagesOne of the success stories of the Jurgen Klopp era at Liverpool is the development of Trent Alexander-Arnold from academy kid into one of the best attacking full-backs in the world, with the most Premier League assists of any defender in history.
Klopp reveals in a new Amazon Prime documentary that former head of the under-18 academy Pep Lijnders instantly saw the 26-year-old's potential.
"I think on day one, Pep told me about Trent," he says.
The defender has helped Liverpool lift the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, Club World Cup and twice the League Cup. However, he says that his debut in 2016 – in a 2-1 win against Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round of the EFL Cup – remains, "the proudest moment I've had in football".
Reflecting on his achievements with his boyhood club, Alexander-Arnold says: "I owe it to that six-year-old lad who walked through the academy gates the first day. I owe it to the teenager that never went to a party, was doing homework in the back of a bus from training. I owe it to him who sacrificed everything."
With the 26-year-old's contract at Liverpool due to expire this summer, there has been much speculation over whether the Reds have a potential successor in waiting in the shape of Northern Irish right-back, Conor Bradley.
The 21-year-old, who has been at Liverpool's academy since he was a teen, made his debut in the Premier League last January under Klopp, in a 4-0 win over Bournemouth, where he picked up an assist.
Ten days later he scored his first goal for the Reds and provided two more assists in a 4-1 win against Chelsea - earning him the man of the match award - and he has continued to impress when asked to deputise for Alexander-Arnold this season.
Lijnders also reveals in the documentary that he "really fought" for Bradley "to be our number two behind Trent".
He also fell out with Klopp over the decision to send the youngster on loan to Bolton in 2022.
"I was really trying to keep him in the club, because I believed that he would be already ready that time," Lijnders adds. "The club makes a decision together with Jurgen to get him out on loan and it really upset me a lot. That was probably one of the only confrontations I had with Jurgen."
Liverpool have a growing interest in Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, while Arsenal also remain keen on a move for the 25-year-old. (Times - subscription required), external
The Premier League could be forced to have two separate transfer windows this summer because of disruption caused by the Club World Cup. (Guardian), external
Luke Reddy
BBC Sport Senior Journalist
Image source, Getty ImagesDominik Szobozslai won possession back eight times for Liverpool in Wednesday's 2-0 win over Newcastle - a high for his team - as well as winning eight of his 10 duels. His coverage of the Anfield turf was comprehensive - tracking 10.9km, which was the furthest clocked by any player on the night.
His endeavour in recent weeks has been obvious. Said to have contracted and been hampered by a virus late in 2024, this year, he has found his legs, his touch and the confidence that comes with such improvements.
Away from the gutsy effort, Szobozslai has added a finishing flourish to his game at the most critical of times.
On this page on 17 January, we posted the graph below showing he was the only player in Liverpool's attacking arsenal to be significantly underperforming his expected goals. The powerhouse midfielder should have applied the finish to 4.31 goals and was floundering on just two, with two assists.
Five weeks ago, Dominik Szoboszlai was the only Liverpool player underperforming their xG by a significant amount.
For clarity, Szobozslai had recorded two goals and two assists in 18 Premier League outings at this point, with the Reds coming off a draw at Nottingham Forest.
In the eight league games since, he has scored three times and added a further assist. He also scored in the Carabao Cup semi-final win against Tottenham.
He is still underperforming his current xG of 6.6 but the differential has narrowed, with him now on five league goals in total.
Furthermore, his return to form and presence are key in a critical triangle in Arne Slot's team. On the graphic below, the thicker the line, the more passes a player plays or receives from a team-mate.
Much has been made of Trent Alexander-Arnold's superb relationship with Mohamed Salah. Against Newcastle, the pair shared 22 passes.
What perhaps goes underappreciated is how Szobozslai is the third cog in the system. In Wednesday's win, he shared 14 passes with Salah and the same number with Alexander-Arnold, making himself an integral link between two of Liverpool's most creative forces.
From harassing opponents, winning the ball back (only Gravenberch, Alexander-Arnold and Mac Allister have won possession more for Liverpool this season) and adding goals in recent weeks, there can be no doubting Szobozslai's significance.
The Kop has already started serenading the league title. Salah will rightly take the plaudits but the marauding Szobozslai has proven a driving force at a pivotal moment.
The thicker the line, the more passes two players share. Szobozslai shared 14 passes with (11) Salah and the same amount with (66) Alexander-Arnold. The three are the most prolific combination between Liverpool's defence and attack.
Image source, Getty ImagesWe asked for your views on Liverpool's Premier League match against Newcastle.
Here are some of your comments:
Liverpool fans
Yusuf: Excellent performance in all areas. Everyone looked like they wanted something to prove. Two very clean strikes from Dominic Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister. And just give Mohamed Salah his new contract - every time he delivers a cross with the outside of his boot is an extra £10,000 add-on bonus in waiting!
David: This was the best-looking performance of the season. Fluid and intense. They look like champions all the way through.
Stuart: Once it was apparent Alexander Isak wasn't playing, Liverpool nullified Newcastle with ease. They worked the ball so well and hardly broke a sweat. Salah smiled the entire game. Every player glided around the pitch. Once the Arsenal result filtered through to the players, they were very professional and closed the game out.
Newcastle fans
Krish: When you play at Anfield you need to take chances or make the keeper work and we couldn't do that. We limited Liverpool to only a few chances but there's a clear divide in quality without Isak, Joelinton and Sven Botman. We need positive performances ahead of the final
Robert: Sadly it's going to be more than 70 years of winning a trophy in this country for Newcastle United. It seemed like men against boys.
David: We never laid a glove on Liverpool. The tactics were sound, but when you give possession away whilst attacking probably the best side in Europe they will hurt you. Some of the fringe players look like they are going through the motions now. So a summer reshuffle must be on the cards in the summer to mount a sustainable top four challenge.
Emlyn Begley
BBC Sport journalist
Image source, Getty ImagesIt is fair to say Liverpool are champions elect now - so it is a matter of when and not if.
Statisticians Opta say it is 98.7% likely Liverpool will win the title (with Arsenal on 1.3%).
Liverpool are 13 points clear of Arsenal with 10 games to go - although the Gunners have 11 matches left.
If the Reds maintain a 13-point lead, that will give them the title with four games to spare - on 26 April against Tottenham.
But if the Gunners win their game in hand - and match their other results, Liverpool would seal the title the following weekend against Chelsea.
If that happened, their first game as champions would be a home game against Arsenal, who may end up giving them a guard of honour on to the pitch.
Because of their progress in the Champions League, a place in the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle and an international break, Liverpool only play one league game in March.
The earliest that Liverpool could mathematically win the title would be in the first week of April.
If the Reds won their next three games and Arsenal lost their next four matches (with teams below them dropping a few points too), it would be over on 5 April.
Image source, Daily Star and Daily TelegraphLiverpool capitalised on Arsenal's stumble at Nottingham Forest to go 13 points clear at the top of the table and the back pages did not hold back.
'Give up yet, Mikel?' jokes The Daily Telegraph, suggesting Arne Slot's men are too far ahead now to be caught at this stage of the season.
No team in English top-flight history, going all the way back to 1888-89, have been this far clear at this stage of the season and not won the title.
So, perhaps they have a point.
Atletico Madrid are on the hunt for a new striker in the summer and one of their transfer targets is Liverpool's Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez, 25. (Caught Offside), external
However, the Reds will only sell Nunez if they bring in a replacement, with Brighton's Brazil striker Joao Pedro, 23, one name on their radar. (Teamtalk), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column
Image source, Getty ImagesLiverpool boss Arne Slot speaking, to TNT Sports on when he will think about the title: "It is still a long way to go, ten games. In March we only play one Premier League game, then we have the cup final of course and an international break and then two big games against Paris Saint-Germain - so we are not focused on the long term.
"I know and the players know how difficult the Champions League game is going to be - they are in the same form as us, hardly lose. It is going to be a difficult task for both teams.
"Now the players have some days off and then we focus on PSG more than we do on the table in the Premier League."
On rest for the players: "Yes it is true that rest is good but also I would love to play because the likes of [Harvey] Elliot, [Jarell] Quansah, [Federico] Chiesa would have been good for them to have a game, but for Virgil [Van Dijk] and Mo [Salah] and these players it is very good."
On beating Newcastle before the Carabao Cup final: "I don't think that means so much because I saw a different Newcastle tonight than a few months ago. I don't know if that is for a reason. Normally they press in a 4-5-1 and today they did a 4-4-2 and Isak and Joelinton were not there. We can expect something different in a few weeks."
Emily Salley
BBC Sport journalist
Image source, Getty ImagesNewcastle could have proved a tricky stumbling block for Arne Slot's Reds.
After all, the Magpies had impressed with goal-heavy wins against Manchester City and Nottingham Forest of late, while they stopped Liverpool from taking all three points at St James' Park in December.
Yet it turned out to be a rather comfortable evening out at Anfield.
With an out-of-form Callum Wilson deputising for the absent Alexander Isak, and with Anthony Gordon far from his best, Liverpool's backline was rarely tested.
After Alexis Mac Alister's goal, the victory never looked in doubt as Slot's side dominated possession and continued to push forward.
And now, with a 13 point lead at the top of table, there will be even fewer doubters that Liverpool will get their hands on the Premier League trophy again.
No team has ever squandered that in English top-flight history, and there are no signs of Liverpool - on a 24 match unbeaten run in the league - crumbling now.
Image source, Getty ImagesLiverpool have now scored two or more goals in 18 consecutive games at Anfield in all competitions – the longest run by an English top-flight club since Sunderland from February to December 1935 (19).
The Reds are now unbeaten in 24 Premier League games (W17 D7) - their third-longest run in top-flight history, behind runs of 31 games from May 1987 to March 1988 and 44 from January 2019 to February 2020.
Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?
Have your say on Liverpool's performance
What did you make of Newcastle's display?
Come back to this page on Thursday to find a selection of your replies
Image source, Getty ImagesLiverpool's former director of research Ian Graham says he was "surprised" at what he discovered when Mohamed Salah last negotiated a new deal at Anfield.
Graham helped work on the three-year contract in 2022 that saw then 30-year-old Salah extend his stay with the club until this summer.
The 32-year-old is now in the final months of that contract with a new deal as yet unsigned, having scored 25 goals and provided 16 assists in a remarkable 27 Premier League games so far this season.
"At that time, I thought I would not recommend for players of his age to sign a contract," Graham told a Financial Times Business of Football summit. "But, this was the strength of the data that forces you to take an objective viewpoint. It surprises you.
"I was surprised at looking at his calibre of player and how they could go into their 30s [still] performing at the same level. When those players drop off, it tends to be a drop in minutes rather than in quality.
"We decided to give him a contract in the summer of 2022 and that was a hard piece of work.
"I am delighted I am not responsible for that piece of work today!"
Five matches make up Wednesday's Premier League action
Brentford v Everton
Man Utd v Ipswich
Nottingham Forest v Arsenal
Tottenham v Man City
Liverpool v Newcastle (20:15)
All kick-off times 19:30 GMT unless stated
Mike Hughes
BBC Radio Merseyside reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesA two-match touchline ban for Liverpool manager Arne Slot is far from ideal. His team have just established a double-digit points lead at the top of the Premier League table and look to be marching towards the title with ruthless efficiency.
With the man who calls the shots being positioned up in the stands at Anfield for tonight's match with Newcastle, touchline responsibilities will handed to another key member of the management team. The coaching staff will have to adapt, but that's unlikely to be a problem.
Liverpool have been adapting since the moment he walked through the door.
Adapting the playing style to be less about demolishing teams with a mixture of power, pace and frenetic energy, and more about exerting authority in possession and taking fewer chances with their build-up play.
Adapting the skillsets of Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo to suit the needs and requirements of this new-look team. Both struggled to hold down regular starting places until this season. They have now become pivotal parts of the team in different areas of the pitch.
And yet it is how they coped with the match circumstances on Sunday and their opponent's strengths that was the real masterclass in adaptability.
Slot used a system that catered for Manchester City's much higher possession count, preventing Pep Guardiola's side capitalising on that because Liverpool's defensive shape without the ball just did not allow them to.
City were smothered by a red tide, absorbing everything they tried to throw at Liverpool, before countering with a stunning simplicity and opening the City defence up with regularity.
This evening, Newcastle fans will come to Anfield sensing that the one that really counts is when the two sides meet in 18 days at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final.
But equally for Eddie Howe, Champions League football next season remains a realistic ambition while for Slot there is the knowledge that another win tonight may see them extend their lead at the top.
Whatever happens, Liverpool will adapt.
They always do.
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Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter
Image source, Getty ImagesWe all love watching exciting, unpredictable football laced with a dash of that devil-may-care spirit that keeps us on the edge of our seats. Right now, that is exactly what the very top of the Premier League, isn't. This is no indictment of Liverpool or indeed their style, but a question about the also rans. This isn't the best group of teams in recent Premier League history, but it still shouldn't reflect negatively on Liverpool's achievements.
Arne Slot's men seemed to manage Manchester City 2-0, rather than beat them 2-0 at the Etihad. That doesn't mean they aren't capable of being swashbuckling, it is just that they scarcely need to fully exert themselves that often. There is a maturity about their play and their game management is way ahead of anyone else. These are the reasons, along with the incomparable Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk being at another level to anyone else around in their positions, why Liverpool are unlikely to stumble enough to be caught now.
I understand why some Liverpool fans feel praise for their team has been muted, and they have a point, but football fans want that excitement and uncertainty in their league campaign.
Remember that before this season's downfall, many were getting bored with Man City's crushing dominance, mostly because it was based on a predictable, ultra-controlled possession style. It was admired more than loved by the end.
Don't worry about Liverpool however, they will be buckling their swash again by the end of the season, but it may take the latter stages of the Champions League for them to show exactly how exciting they can be. Watch out PSG!
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