Liverpool's unique plan to sidestep transfer rule with latest signing

Liverpool have been busy in the final few days of the window as they aim to bolster their squad to give Andoni Iraola the tools to challenge for silverware this season.

The Reds have made a far from ideal start to the campaign as they drew their opening two matches in the Premier League against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest.

Since their draw at the weekend with Forest, the 2025 Premier League champions have made three signings; however, only one of those will be available this season.

Bradley Barcola is that man after he joined from PSG for an initial fee of £106 million, and there is hope this marquee signing can prove to be the difference this campaign for the Reds.

The other two late deals made by Liverpool were Lucca Brughmans from Genk and Djylian N'Guessan from Ligue 2 side Saint-Etienne.

Brughmans has returned on loan to his Belgian club for the remainder this season before the 18-year-old makes the permanent move to Anfield next season.

Meanwhile, the N’Guessan loan deal is a lot more complicated for Liverpool to get around a transfer rule.

Djylian N'Guessan of Saint-Etienne drives the ball during the France Ligue 1 match between AS Saint-Etienne and FC Nantes at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on January 19, 2025 in Saint-Etienne, France.Getty Images

Liverpool’s unique plan to get around transfer rule with Djylian N'Guessan

The Reds will sign the striker at the end of his contract next season, but the club wants the youthful striker to get some exposure at the top level of European football, something he will not get at Saint-Etienne in Ligue 2.

So, the attacker has been loaned out to Ligue 1 side Brest from Saint-Etienne but the crucial thing to note here is the deal is from the 10-time French top-flight champions and not Liverpool.

The Reds had filled their full allocation of foreign loan slots with Harvey Elliott's season-long switch to Spanish outfit Valencia, so the French club were required to loan N’Guessan to a top side, as reported by the Liverpool Echo.

N'Guessan will then sign a pre-contract agreement with Liverpool in January and complete his transfer to the Reds next summer.

The 18-year-old has impressed since making his debut in January 2025 for Saint-Etienne against Stade de Reims.