Liverpool misses out on a Premier League player reinforcement before the transfer deadline for a single reason.
On 2 September 2026, Fabrice Hawkins, a journalist specializing in the French transfer market, reported that Liverpool missed out on strengthening their squad in the final hours before the Premier League summer transfer window closed last night (1 September at 23:00 local time, or 05:00 on 2 September Thai time).
Fabrice Hawkins revealed, "Liverpool made every effort at the last minute to secure French right-back Malo Gusto on a loan deal, but those efforts were unsuccessful."
Liverpool is facing serious issues at right-back after Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez, both capable in that position, suffered long-term injuries simultaneously. Meanwhile, Jeremy Frimpong's defensive performance has been weak, making it a frequent target for opponents.
This prompted Liverpool to try to bring in Malo Gusto to fill the right-back gap; however, the Reds only wanted a loan deal without an obligation to buy.
Chelsea preferred a permanent transfer, which Liverpool could not afford financially after recently spending £123 million on French winger Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain—£106 million upfront plus £17 million in bonuses.
Currently, Liverpool's emergency options to cover right-back in place of Jeremy Frimpong include repositioning midfielders Dominic Szoboszlai or Wataru Endo, as was done during the Arne slot era, or using Ronald Araújo, who can play both central defense and right-back.
