Liverpool ‘in talks’ to recall French defender after just eight appearances during disappointing loan spell

It’s December which means there is now just one month until the January transfer window opens and Premier League clubs can begin buying and selling players again.
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The FIFA World Cup finals continue to hold centre stage as Gareth Southgate’s England have booked their place in the first knockout stage and will now face Senegal on Sunday.

Meanwhile, it’s now December which means there is just one month until the January transfer window opens and Premier League clubs can begin buying and selling players again. It’s not clear yet how active Liverpool will be in the window, with Borussia Dortmund and England midfielder Jude Bellingham understood to be their top target but any potential deal on the 19-year old may not be completed until the summer.

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However, one player who left Anfield in the summer could be about to return sooner than expected after failing to find regular first team game time during his current loan spell. Defender Billy Koumetio was sent to Austrian Bundesliga side Austria Vienna earlier this year on a season long deal but a report from Football Insider claims that the Reds could be looking to cut that short and bring the 20-year old back to Merseyside next month.

The French youth international has made just eight first team appearances for Vienna this season, five in the league and three in the Europa League and Europa Conference League fixtures. It is believed that if they do decide to recall the defender in January that the Anfield club will look to find another club to send him back out on loan to in the second half of the season.

Koumetio has been with Liverpool since 2018, having joined their youth set up after spells with Vaulx-en-Velin, Lyon and Orléans. He signed his first professional contract with the Reds in 2020. Later that year he made his first senior appearance, coming on as a substitute for Fabinho in a UEFA Champions League match against FC Midtjylland. That appearance made him the youngest player to ever feature for Liverpool in the Champions League but that record was broken by Stefan Bajcetic this year.

The 20-year old defender has represented his native France at youth level but is also eligible to play for Cameroon. He has won two caps at U18 level so far.