Liverpool wanted to sign Chelsea midfielder Denis Zakaria before bringing in Arthur Melo during the summer transfer window.
Zakaria signed for Chelsea on deadline day on a season-long loan deal. With injuries to some of their midfielders, bringing in reinforcements was necessary for Thomas Tuchel.
Jorginho and N’Golo Kante have now entered the final year of their contracts, so bringing in another midfielder as a potential long-term replacement could have been a smart move.
However, Chelsea did face some late competition to sign Zakaria, with Calcio Mercato reporting that Liverpool approached Juventus regarding the possibility of bringing in Zakaria, but he ended up signing for Chelsea.
After missing out on Zakaria, Liverpool opted to sign Arthur, who could make his debut midweek against Napoli in the Champions League.
Signing for Chelsea rather than Liverpool could see Zakaria receiving more game time, especially with Conor Gallagher struggling in the opening weeks of the season.
Gallagher was sent off in one of Chelsea’s recent games against Leicester, and doesn’t appear to have adapted to Tuchel’s system so far this season.