Some interesting comments were made by Ismaila Sarr's agent earlier this week with him alleging that a deal was in place for the player to join Liverpool in the winter window, only for the Reds to fall short when the money needed paying.

It's a rumour we have seen for a fair while now and speculation was rife in the summer window that Sarr would be heading to one of Liverpool or Manchester United.

That never happened, but the rumour hasn't gone away with Sarr's agent making a pretty clear claim that a move to Liverpool was on last month:

Thierno Seydi said, via Pan African Football:

“With Liverpool, a few days ago, we were at the stage of signing the contract that would tie the Reds to Ismaila Sarr.

“Everything was sorted: the monthly wages and the length of the deal. I’d even asked Sadio Mane to find him an apartment.

“But it in the end, they weren’t able to put the €40 million (£35m/$49m) on the table to finalise the deal.

“You have to say that if English clubs that once animated the transfer window are struggling to put funds together, that shows the depth of the crisis affecting football.”

The Reds, of course, were seemingly set for a window of no signings until further defensive injuries sparked late activity and so to hear the idea of them moving for a player for big money last month seems a little hard to believe.

However, perhaps personal terms were indeed agreed at least and that could be revived in the future once financial issues ease.

When that happens, though, remains to be seen. The Athletic is reporting the Reds could sell a fair few players in the summer to raise cash and even then they might feel it best to not spend big on one player like Sarr.

Even if they are willing to spend good cash, meanwhile, they'll surely be looking to add defensively further first of all with fitness question marks firmly over the likes of Joel Matip and Joe Gomez, so the Sarr deal is very much up in the air.

His agent's comments suggest it is a deal that can be done but, until money becomes less tight, even for a big Premier League side like Liverpool, it's a move that might well remain on hold.