Chelsea ‘clear the way’ for Liverpool January signing after Guehi transfer stance is made clear | OneFootball

Liverpool are the ‘frontrunners’ to sign Club Brugge centre-back Joel Ordonez as they look to sign a defender in January, according to reports.

The Reds have been back in form in recent weeks with Arne Slot’s side winning four consecutive matches in all competitions.

Liverpool are back in the top four of the Premier League table but their three Premier League wins in a row have not seen them gain ground on any of the top three, who’ve all won their last three games too.

Last year’s Premier League winners find themselves ten points behind leaders Arsenal in the title race after a horror run of results in October and November.

Liverpool spent over £400m on new signings in the summer transfer market with Giovanni Leoni arriving from Parma as their top centre-back signing.

However, Leoni picked up a serious injury towards the beginning of the season as Liverpool were left short of centre-back cover, with Joe Gomez their only other centre-back after starting duo Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk.

A deal for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi fell through on deadline day during the summer and now transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealed earlier this month that the Reds could sign two new players in January.

Romano said on his YouTube channel: “Today, surgery for Alexander Isak, and that’s bad news. He will be out for several months. Liverpool will now assess what to do in the January transfer window, but there is a possibility, as I told you yesterday, that Liverpool will enter the market.

“We will see whether it’s going to be for one or two positions, but Liverpool are considering the possibility of entering the January transfer window.”

Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has now revealed that Guehi is likely to stay at Selhurst Park beyond January, he said: “I think Marc will stay until the end of the season.”

That means Liverpool are looking for alternative centre-back options with Club Brugge’s Ordonez one of their top targets in the winter window.

And now Bolavip claims that Liverpool are ‘currently the frontrunner to sign him, however, another club has now entered the race’.

The report adds: ‘Ordóñez was very keen to join Chelsea, even making it his priority for 2026. However, the Blues withdrew from negotiations and are now emerging as a contender to sign him. This cleared the way for Liverpool to ultimately secure his signature.’

Inter Milan are the new team ‘closely monitoring’ the defender and the Serie A side are ‘prepared to offer the Ecuadorian midfielder a transfer fee in January, so the final decision seems to rest with Ordóñez himself and Club Brugge, who have already proven to be difficult to negotiate with’.

The report continues: ‘Joel Ordóñez currently has a market value of €28 million. The Ecuadorian defender could join a new team for over €40 million, potentially becoming one of the most expensive transfers in the club’s history and in the Belgian league.’