Liverpool transfer plan confirmed as manager gives update after talks

Birmingham City have Lewis Koumas on loan from Liverpool, and a new January transfer plan has been hatched after talks between both clubs this week

Liverpool have agreed with Birmingham City to extend the window for recalling Lewis Koumas. The Reds originally had to inform the Sky Bet Championship side whether they planned to recall Koumas by January 15, but an agreement has been struck to extend the window.

The Wales international enjoyed a successful loan in the second tier with Stoke City last season and joined Birmingham during the summer. But Koumas had initially found starting opportunities hard to come by at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.

However, with the 20-year-old having been given an extended run in the team in recent weeks due to an injury to Demarai Gray, an agreement has been struck to extend the window.

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“We have extended that (loan recall window)," Birmingham boss Chris Davies confirmed to BirminghamLive. “He’s playing and doing well.

“We’ve had discussions with Liverpool and everyone is happy right now. He’s with us and an important player. He’s enjoying his football right now.

“We want to make sure Lewis is happy. From the club side, Liverpool and everyone is on the same page.

“Right now, as we speak, he has just been in the team for two games in a row, got a goal and done well, I think all parties see it as let’s let him focus on the next few matches and see where it goes from there.”

Koumas scored his first goal for the club at the start of this month in a 3-2 victory over league leaders Coventry City and impressed against Cambridge United in the FA Cup.

Reflecting on Koumas’s improved form, Davies said: “Pretty much every player is a confidence player, but you don’t hear them say it. Lewis is very honest and he’s a nice personality.

“He’s been really limited in game time through my decisions. I’ve gone for someone else in his position.

“He had a little run previously when we played Swansea, he played the home game and had a good performance, and he’s been chomping at the bit to play.

“But he’s been training and getting on with it. He got his chance and scored in a massive game at home. You only need a moment to ignite and change your time at a club and hopefully that’s it for him.

“I was really keen to get him in for his speed. I think he’d rank as one of or if not our quickest player, and he’s got that intensity. He makes a lot of forward runs and I like how he presses.

“There’s a good player in there, definitely, and we want to make sure that he is getting what he needs and that everyone is happy and, at the moment, everyone is, so we keep going.”

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