Liverpool’s First January Signing Ignores the Team’s Biggest Problem Positions

Liverpool have officially agreed a deal to sign 18-year-old striker Djylian N’Guessan, who will join the club on a permanent transfer in January.

It was a rather underwhelming Deadline Day from the Reds. Fans were hoping for an attacking reinforcement, as well as some upgrades at fullback, for Andoni Iraola’s squad, but instead, Liverpool only signed Genk goalkeeper Lucca Brughmans, who will not even join up with the team until next summer.

Liverpool had other business going on in the background, though, and finally made things official with Saint-Etienne forward N’Guessan. The Athletic report the Reds snagged the teenager’s signature in a deal worth $5.8 million (£4.3 million, €5 million).

The catch, though, is that Liverpool soon confirmed N’Guessan will spend the 2026–27 season on loan at Brest, giving the youngster time to gain some valuable experience in the French top-flight after two seasons playing in Ligue 2.

It’s another deal with long-term implications for the 20-time English champions, but that does them no good this season.

Who Is Djylian N’Guessan?

N’Guessan is an exciting young forward whose stock has been slowly increasing in France over the last two seasons. The 18-year-old rose through the ranks of Saint-Etienne’s academy before he made his senior debut in January 2025.

He went on to make 13 appearances for the first team and scored one goal along the way. At the international level, N’Guessan scored nine goals in eight appearances for France’s U-17 side. The striker found the back of the net four times in last summer’s U-17 European Championship and was named to its Team of the Tournament.

N’Guessan has since made seven appearances for France’s U-20 side, helping the team finish fourth at the 2025 U-20 World Cup.

The youngster is primarily a center forward who can also feature out wide. N’Guessan has quick feet, a clean first touch and knows how to carve out his own space using his powerful build. At the international level especially, he’s shown he can take defenders on and get his head up in time to survey a situation, knowing when to take the shot for himself or play facilitator.

What N’Guessan lacks in experience he makes up for in his natural skill, but he is still very raw around the edges, and far from a finished product.

Liverpool Continue to Overlook Current Weaknesses

Andoni Iraola has had a challenging start to his Anfield tenure. | Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

Signing a player who has the potential to be the next great French striker is an exciting move for Liverpool’s future, much like signing Brughmans. Adding N’Guessan to the team’s growing French contingent, which now includes Bradley Barcola along with Hugo Ekitiké and Jérémy Jacquet, is a move that could set the Reds up in the long-term.

But what about the present? Liverpool have collected just five points from their opening three Premier League matches this season. Iraola’s men settled for draws with Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest before securing their first win over the recently promoted Ipswich Town on Friday.

The team has a gaping hole on the right wing, left absent by Mohamed Salah’s departure this summer. Barcola can no doubt fill that gap, but the France international is better on the left, much like Cody Gakpo, Rio Ngumoha and Víctor Muñoz.

Then there’s the glaring defensive problems on either flank. Jeremie Frimpong has been dreadful to start the season—after an already poor debut campaign in 2025–26—and Milos Kerkez is hardly much better.

Iraola was forced to turn to Ronald Araújo at right back against Ipswich, trusting the natural center back more than Frimpong. The Barcelona loanee is capable of playing the position, but he is not a permanent solution for Liverpool considering his inconsistent form and long history of fitness woes.

Instead of building for the future—or perhaps in tandem with the club’s pursuits—Liverpool would have been better served signing some much-needed reinforcements to truly give Iraola a squad capable of challenging for silverware.

Instead, the new manager got a goalkeeper and striker who will not even move to Merseyside until next summer.

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