Liverpool signs Queens Park Rangers' Steven Caulker on loan

​To see a list of completed deals in the January window thus far, visit theScore's Premier League transfer tracker.

Liverpool has addressed its injury-depleted defence, bringing in Queens Park Rangers' Steven Caulker to fill the void.

Caulker cut short a loan deal at Southampton to join the Reds after he struggled for minutes behind Virgil van Dijk and Jose Fonte on the South Coast, and will remain with Liverpool until the end of the season.

Although there has been word that Mamadou Sakho and Kolo Toure could return for Wednesday's visit of Arsenal, the latter is certainly seen as a bit-part player on Merseyside. This pair, along with Tiago Ilori, who was recently recalled from a loan spell from Aston Villa, was not seen as ample cover for a team with top-four aspirations.

The duo who began the campaign as the first-choice partnership in the centre of defence - Martin Skrtel and Dejan Lovren - are still in the treatment room.

Neven Subotic, a former charge of manager Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund, and Schalke's Joel Matip have been linked with moves to Anfield, but it could prove difficult to conduct significant transfer business until the summer transfer window.

This is why Caulker, who is believed to have cost Queens Park Rangers around £8.5 million in 2014, fits the mold as a viable short-term option.

The deal has been struck in time for the Liverpool's midweek hosting of Arsenal.