Following their displeasure at missing out on Martin Zubimendi, Liverpool may attempt to hijack a £36 million Chelsea deal by focussing on a different midfield target.
Liverpool has placed itself in a tricky situation. In recent years, the team has set a goal of signing a number six. Jurgen Klopp was interested in Aurelien Tchouameni two years ago, and he wanted Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia last summer as well.

Those transactions all fell through. According to Arne Slot and Liverpool’s recruitment squad, Martin Zubimendi was the obvious choice for No. 6. But, once again, it was all over, with Zubimendi’s decision to stay at Real Sociedad leading the transaction to fail.

Liverpool is already running out of options to fill Slot’s midfield void with less than three weeks till the window closes.

Liverpool has the capacity to exploit the Conor Gallagher deal.
As the Reds run out of options for acquiring a midfielder, they may go to a player who is already on the point of leaving his current club and has previously been complimented by Liverpool. 

Conor Gallagher, a midfielder who is currently free to leave Chelsea, has been linked with the Reds in previous transfer windows.

Gallagher had been practicing with Chelsea’s U21 squad before travelling to Spain earlier this week to assist in negotiations for a £36 million transfer to Atletico Madrid.

However, those negotiations failed, and Gallagher is now slated to return to the United Kingdom. This allows Liverpool to disrupt the agreement and bring him to Anfield instead.Gallagher isn’t the normal number six. However, his passion may provide Slot with vital ammunition in the midfield, allowing Ryan Gravenberch or Alexis MacAllister to play as replacement number sixes rather than relying on them for both roles.

It would not be the best circumstance. However, Liverpool has come late, so it wouldn’t be disastrous to settle for Gallagher.