Liverpool's 'final push' for surprise midfield transfer failed at final hurdle

Liverpool dominated the transfer headlines this summer.

Even though they spent over £450 million last term, they were still linked with a whole host of new talent to try and improve their ranks.

Four deals for senior players got over the line with a last-minute deal for 18-year-old Lucca Brughmans also being confirmed.

On paper, these new additions will be massively helpful for Liverpool but, it's hard to look at Andoni Iraola's first-team squad without noticing that there are still a fair few gaps that need to be filled.

And, clearly Fenway Sports Group felt the same as, Liverpool managed to have a last-minute bid for a midfielder rejected in the dying embers of deadline day.

Chelsea rejected Liverpool's deadline day bid for Malo Gusto

Going into the 2026-27 summer transfer window, Liverpool had a lot of problem areas that needed bolstering.

Even though they'd spent a small fortune during the last summer window, the amount of changes that the Reds needed to make was worrying.

Many of their first-team squad failed to meet expectations which is why every other day, a new player seemed to be linked with the Anfield outfit.

This may have seemed a bit like overkill but, with the number of additions that their title rivals were making, these transfers could have completely changed the way the way that Liverpool's season panned out.

And, although it felt like the Reds were making no moves on deadline day, a fresh update from Fabrice Hawkins says otherwise.

"Liverpool made a final push today to sign Malo Gusto on loan, but the attempt ended without success," he shared via X.

"The Reds were only willing to consider a loan with no mandatory buy clause, while Chelsea were pushing for a permanent transfer.

"Liverpool simply don’t have the financial means to make a permanent deal happen."

Malo Gusto would have been perfect for Andoni Iraola's Liverpool

Although Malo Gusto is more of a right-back these days, when he first started his playing career, he was used as a midfielder.

The Frenchman is only 23 years old and, even though he seemed to be one of Enzo Maresca's favourite players, Xabi Alonso has literally signed a new right-back to come in and replace him.

It's strange how different managers see certain players but, for Liverpool, Gusto would've certainly been a welcome addition.

Indeed, the fact that the Reds' only natural right back is Jeremie Frimpong at the moment is a massive cause for concern.

Granted, both Ronald Araujo and Joe Gomez can both be used there if needed but, since both are rather injury prone and neither of them are in the best run of form, there are still question marks about whether they have what it takes to help Liverpool out long-term.

Gusto, on the other hand, has already played many Premier League games and is still rather young.

Obviously, his Liverpool switch would have only been a season-long loan deal but, he'd still probably do a much better job than Frimpong is at the moment.

Here's hoping that the Reds' failed last-minute bid for the Frenchman doesn't come back to bite them.