You'll have plenty to celebrate when you subscribe to the Liverpool FC newsletter Sign me up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Who said January would be quiet at Anfield?

Ten days into the transfer window, Liverpool have made their biggest ever signing and completed their biggest ever sale.

Virgil van Dijk and Philippe Coutinho, two of the summer's biggest sagas, have found a winter resolution.

What happens now, then? The hope among supporters is that the Reds have a few aces up their sleeve before the month is out.

Chief among their targets, we understand, is Monaco's Thomas Lemar. Now whether a deal can be done this month remains to be seen, but the Reds are keen to land the France international if they can.

So to find out a little bit more about Lemar, we spoke to Andy Brassell, European football writer for The Guardian...

Hi Andy, thanks for speaking to us. Firstly, the big question. Could Lemar replace Coutinho in the Liverpool side?

(Image: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

It's hard to replace a player like Coutinho, because very few have got the technical ability he has.

Also, the fact is that Coutinho scores more goals.

Lemar has the potential to score more goals than he does, but he's not quite there at the moment.

What you are getting with him is something a little bit different. You're getting someone who would adapt to the Premier League very quickly, which is a big deal.

He's played in a very young, fit team as well, so he's used to doing a lot of running. A lot of people have said he's too slight to play in central midfield, but he's basically a central midfielder.

(Image: VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images)

He's often described as a winger, but that's not really right. He plays on the left of a 4-4-2 for Monaco, but their midfield is very narrow as their full-backs do so much work wide.

He played central midfield at Caen a lot, and even though he's what, 62 or 63 kilos, he's quite difficult to knock off the ball. He's strong, he's quick and he has such good balance as well.

He's not a touchline-hugging winger, that's an important thing to underline.

So he can see a pass, then?

(Image: Photo credit should read FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images)

He can see a pass, and he can carry the ball as well.

The added thing you're getting with him is set-pieces as well. Since he's got into the France XI, Dimitri Payet, the golden boy of Euro 2016, has found his place under a bit of pressure – certainly in the XI, if not the squad.

Lemar is younger, has been in far better form for the last year and a half, and on top of that can take set pieces too. He covers a lot of the bases Payet covers, and with his left foot gives a nice balance to the side too.

What about his character, is he someone you feel could handle a big move at 22?

Obviously he had a really good game on the night Liverpool wanted to sign him back in August against the Netherlands, and I think that shows how good he is at dealing with pressure as well.

People found it quite difficult to get a read on his character when he was younger, because he's quite quiet. He's not loud in the dressing room, but he's someone who is very determined and knows his own mind.

(Image: THIERRY ZOCCOLAN/AFP/Getty Images)

I think the set-piece thing is important. I know people will say that matters more for lower teams, but I don't think it does. Look at the difference someone like Toni Kroos makes for Real Madrid, for example. He makes Sergio Ramos score a lot of those goals.

If you go back and look at the numbers this season and last, no team in Ligue 1 scores more set-piece goals than Monaco. That's partly down to Lemar, partly down to Joao Moutinho and partly down to having centre backs who are good finishers.

It's something that is very useful and important in his armoury.

By all accounts his form this season has been patchy, is that fair?

(Image: FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images)

It's a little bit unfair because he had an injury which kept him out for about a month, and obviously that impacted on his form.

Someone like Fabinho saw their form dip because they weren't allowed to leave in August – PSG were the main suitor for him and Monaco said no. But Lemar was the boss of his own decision.

He could have gone to Arsenal on the transfer deadline, but he chose not to. That a) says that he's someone with a good head on his shoulders and b) that he clearly wants to join Liverpool over Arsenal, if he has the choice.

So would Monaco think about selling, do you think?

In terms of the money, it just got so crazy at the end of the window. Monaco were in a position last summer where they intended to sell two, maximum three, first teamers and then take it from there.

(Image: (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images))

But then the money starting rolling in for the likes of Benjamin Mendy, they couldn't say no to that, and that set a line for Lemar which was above and beyond what's probably reasonable.

But the thing is a) because it's January, b) because Liverpool have just trousered a lot of money for Coutinho, the fee is not going to be any less than it was in August, is it?

If Liverpool are going to sign him, I think they may end up paying through the nose anyway. If they want to sign him now, they have to pay. If they wait until after the World Cup, who knows what you'll have to pay?

It's difficult. Kind of like Van Dijk and Keita, if they are players you really want and think will really make a difference to the medium term of the club, you just have to pay it in the end...

Does Monaco's situation affect things – they're battling just to qualify for the Champions League at the moment?

(Image: Marco Rosi/Getty Images)

I don't think it does, because they're out of Europe altogether so they only have to concentrate on the league.

If they keep it together, they have players that they signed last summer that have yet to totally settle.

Lemar was brilliant for the first couple of months in the league, but Monaco are trying to balance player turnover. Players like Keita (Balde), Jovetic, Tielemans are all players signed in the knowledge that Lemar will go at some point.

Monaco are built to sell, and they expect to, but they will fancy their chances of finishing second this season, qualifying for the Champions League.

What I will say is that Lemar takes a lot of advice from his dad, who he is very close to, and his dad has thought for the duration that he should stay at Monaco this year ahead of the World Cup.

(Image: BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)

Afterwards? Different, I think.

But he's a sensible guy with a solid family around him. Maybe if the money is too much then he goes this January. I wouldn't rule it out, but I don't see him beating down their door saying 'it's now or never' because I don't think it is.

Liverpool were hot on him six months ago and they'll be hot on him in six months' time too. And the fact that he wants to come is a big part.

And finally, is there anybody else knocking round Ligue 1 that you think could be of interest to Liverpool – Nabil Fekir perhaps?

Well, someone will sign Nabil Fekir in the summer, I'm sure. These deals are difficult to do in January.

But I don't think Liverpool are desperate. The team was almost built without Coutinho in it, and it was a bonus when he came back. So I don't feel there's any massive rush.

Fekir is having a career season, and will cost an extraordinary amount of money. The sense with him is that he's a player you have to build a team around – Didier Deschamps, for example, doesn't really know what to do with him.

Fekir in that No.10 spot is fantastic. He has so much ability, and I think he could score goals in the Premier League as well. I'd say you'd be looking at 15-20 goals in a season for a player like him, and he can create.

Maybe Arsenal is the obvious choice, pairing him with Lacazette if Ozil goes. That would make sense.

As far as other players in Ligue 1 go, I do wonder why nobody ever talks about another Monaco player, Danijel Subasic. He's a really good goalkeeper, comes from a club, Hajduk Split, who are known for producing good goalkeepers. He'd be one I'd look at.

(Image: (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images))

There's a young keeper at Toulouse called Albin Lafont who is a good player, but only 18. I like their centre back Steeve Yago too, but Toulouse drive a very hard bargain as a club, trust me!

Elsewhere, maybe not for Liverpool, someone, somewhere will have a pop for Thiago Mendes from Lille.

He's one of a number of South Americans brought in by Marcelo Bielsa, and one of the few who really settled. He's a box to box midfielder, and I can see him fitting in really well at a Premier League club. He's adapted so quickly to European football, and he's quite an interesting one.

There are always players out there in France. Even despite the crazy market prices, I still think buying from Ligue 1 is affordable by modern standards.