Liverpool must ignore the noise over £65m deal and complete transfer they wanted all along

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Liverpool have been linked with signing Antoine Semenyo in January but there is another deal the Reds should consider completing firstLiverpool are likely to already have their plans for the January transfer window in place, but it remains to be seen what those will be. There has been a lot of talk and speculation about who the Reds could look to target when the window opens in the New Year.Mohamed Salah linking up with the Egypt squad for the Africa Cup of Nations, combined with injuries to Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo, have left Liverpool without several of their forward options in arguably the busiest time of the season.Salah will return early next year, while Isak is expected to be on the sidelines for several months.

As a result, there have been frequent rumours that Liverpool could go into the market for a new forward in January.READ MORE: Alexander Isak breaks silence after Liverpool leg break with injury admissionREAD MORE: Thomas Frank hits back at Liverpool boss Arne Slot and shares Alexander Isak and Micky van de Ven talksAntoine Semenyo is one player Liverpool have been linked with, amid reports suggesting that the Bournemouth star has a £65million release clause in his contract.There has also been talk that the clause will expire in mid-January, so the Reds would need to move fast if they want to get a deal over the line, especially as Manchester City are considered favourites for his signature.Semenyo has been tipped to be a potential replacement for Salah in the future, but the forward would certainly add valuable depth and quality to Liverpool right now.Despite Liverpool still being linked with Semenyo, who has also been mentioned as a target for Manchester United and Manchester City, it's arguably not the deal that should be considered their priority.Rewind almost four months ago, Liverpool made it clear that they wanted to sign a centre-back in the summer transfer window.Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi was a target for Liverpool in the summer, with a £35million deal even agreed. The move fell through, though, at the eleventh hour, leaving the Reds without the defensive reinforcement that they wanted.This, combined with the injury to Giovanni Leoni in the same month, has left Liverpool certainly in need of at least one central defensive reinforcement.It's a matter of opinion whether Liverpool need a new defender or forward the most in January.

Or, more specifically, whether they would benefit most from signing Guehi or Semenyo in the New Year.What cannot be argued with, though, is that Liverpool wanted to sign Guehi. It's still uncertain as to whether or not Semenyo is a genuine target for the Reds, or just mere speculation ahead of the transfer window.Signing Guehi would not solve every problem that Liverpool have faced this season.