Liverpool allegedly failed with a £100m bid for Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes towards the end of the summer transfer window.
Throughout the off-season and opening weeks of the new campaign, the Merseyside giants were generally left frustrated in their search for fresh faces in the engine room.
Although Alexis Mac Allister was acquired from Brighton & Hove Albion soon after 2022-23, Jurgen Klopp and the club's recruitment failed to attract the big-name defensive-minded and combative player that they craved.
Having missed out on Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, Klopp instead opted for Japan international Wataru Endo for a much lower fee than they would have shelled out for one of the aforementioned duo.
Some of the money that was left over was shelled out on bringing in Ryan Gravenberch from Bayern Munich, although the Dutchman is another offensive player for the centre of the pitch.
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With Stefan Bajcetic also at his disposal alongside Endo and Mac Allister, Klopp is still blessed with talent in the middle, yet it has been claimed that Liverpool were prepared to break their transfer record to further improve his options.
According to AS, Liverpool were prepared to pay £100m on Guimaraes on the final week before close of business until January.
As expected, Newcastle responded with what is described as 'a resounding no' for one of their key players as they bid to keep Liverpool outside of the top four of the Premier League table.
The report adds that Guimaraes is likely to remain on Liverpool's radar with the Brazil international's contract currently due to expire in 2026.
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Newcastle find themselves off the pace in the top flight right now, accumulating just three points from their opening four fixtures, which includes a defeat to Liverpool.
Eddie Howe's side have suffered three consecutive losses - with the others coming to Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion - since thrashing Aston Villa on the first weekend of the campaign.
Guimaraes has started each of those games, taking him to 61 appearances for Newcastle with 10 goals and six assists being contributed during that time.
The 25-year-old cost in the region of £40m when Newcastle signed him from Lyon in January 2022.
Darren Plant
