Steve Nicol believes that Jurgen Klopp has ‘a big problem’ to solve with the composition of his Liverpool midfield in the final month of the transfer window.
Although the Reds have brought in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai this summer, their plans for the new campaign were disrupted in July when Jordan Henderson and Fabinho both left for the Saudi Pro League.
They have been trying to sign Romeo Lavia from Southampton but have seen two bids rejected and may now need to pay as much as £60m for him, with Curtis Jones playing at the base of midfield in Sunday’s 4-0 win over Leicester in Singapore as Trent Alexander-Arnold reverted to right-back.
However, neither of the first two have convinced Nicol that they can be the deep-lying midfielder that Liverpool need if they’re to challenge for major silverware.
Speaking on ESPN FC, the 61-year-old said: “If Liverpool want to be pushing anybody for the Premier League title or the Champions League or any of the big prizes, they need somebody who is going to be playing now and who’s going to do the job.
“They can’t wait on a [Romeo] Lavia getting better or hoping that Curtis Jones can fill in. That doesn’t get you Premier League titles or Champions League titles. It’s a big problem right now.”
It’s incomprehensible that Klopp won’t push to bring in at least one more midfielder in August, with Lavia and Andre Trindade firmly on his wish list.
The clock is ticking closer to the transfer deadline in 30 days’ time, but let’s see if Liverpool can pull off a late transfer coup to alleviate fears over their midfield ranks.
You can see Nicol’s comments below (from 2:01), via ESPN UK on YouTube: