Liverpool finally ready to give up on £65m star

Liverpool are about to call it a day on one £65m star. It's the end of the road and the Reds will move on.

The winter transfer window is about to open and Liverpool will have to get involved. The summer transfers didn't quite work out as expected and while the hope is that only minor tinkering is needed, it's still very much needed.

Of course, preparation for the window - i.e. finding players - has been underway for some time. Liverpool have certainly been linked with several options over the last couple of months.

But there is an 'issue'. A couple, really. Liverpool changed formation, or at least they changed their idea, last month, moving away from the 4-2-3-1 with direct wingers and towards something far more solid through the middle.

Then Alexander Isak got injured - something that could necessitate a new striker arriving in January to keep proper squad depth. Combine those two things and perhaps it's understandable why Liverpool are giving up on one £65m star.

Antoine Semenyo expected to join Man City

Football Insider are the latest to say that Antoine Semenyo is set to join Manchester City. Their claim is that Liverpool 'fear' they're losing the race and expect Semenyo to join City.

Now, we did see this coming. Liverpool's ideas changed this season and it made a move for Semenyo a lot less likely - especially with all the competition.

His £65m release clause opens the door to absolutely every team who has the money and sees value in the player. City do, along with Liverpool, but we feel the Reds may feel the deal is a lot less valuable to them than it was a few months ago.

So in that sense, it's no great loss. Liverpool could and should pivot to a deal that makes more sense to them - possibly a striker, or possibly a player more able to play in a tighter, central role.

This season has forced a rethink on what works for Liverpool. A part of that is reconsidering every transfer target, Sermenyo included.

Whether they were going to win the race or not - and perhaps City were always going to convince him - giving up here and moving on is no negative. It could well end with Liverpool finding a more suitable player for what they want to do going forward.