Liverpool’s efficient business in the transfer market over the past few seasons means they are likely to have a midfielder lined up for next summer, according to Jamie Carragher.
The Reds have got their business done early this summer, signing Darwin Nunez, Fabio Carvalho and Calvin Ramsey, and are seemingly happy to stick, rather than twist, in the final month of the window. Jurgen Klopp has been clear that he is happy with his squad for now and the club won’t be panicked into signing players for the sake of it.
However, there is a clear need to refresh the midfield in the coming years, with key players James Milner (36), Jordan Henderson (32) and Thiago Alcantara (31) all on the wrong side of 30. This is something Liverpool are well aware of and tried to address with a bid put in for Aurelien Tchouameni before he decided to swap Monaco for Real Madrid in a £60million transfer this summer.
With Tchouameni gone, attention has been turned to Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham. Dortmund were unwilling to do business this summer after losing Erling Haaland to Manchester City, but Liverpool are expected to return next summer for the England international according to Carragher.
“Liverpool could still do with someone in midfield – not in terms of numbers wise, in terms of quality wise” explained Carragher, speaking on the Overlap, in partnership with Sky Bet. “And I think, notoriously how Liverpool have done transfers under Klopp, they wait for who they want.
“When they didn’t get [Virgil] van Dijk, they waited. They gave it until January, even when most fans said ‘you’ve got to go buy another centre-back’. No, they don’t panic.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Is Jude Bellingham the right midfielder for Liverpool? Comment below.
“Even when all the centre-backs got injured in the same season, in the January they brought a couple of centre-backs in but on loan. They didn’t buy anyone because they didn’t get who they wanted, which was [Ibrahima] Konate, and they waited.
“Liverpool are not daft. Their first choice midfield three now is quite old, together, getting into their thirties. But Liverpool are prepared to wait and I think that’s one of the reasons they’re so good in the transfer market. So I think they must have someone lined up next summer.”
Klopp is a known admirer of Bellingham, but he was quick to launch a defence of Liverpool’s transfer strategy when asked about the 19-year-old last month. “He’s not on the market, so that’s the first problem with that player,” he said. “Well, the only problem with that player!”
He added: "I don’t understand. I do not understand. People told me about this discussion, but the last thing that would have crossed my mind is that we have to [sign a midfielder].
"I know all these things, that we don’t score enough goals from midfield, this and that, but what do we want? This ‘Golden Cow’ that is producing absolutely everything, milk as well!”
Liverpool will go into the 2022/23 season with Henderson, Thiago, Milner, Fabinho, Naby Keita, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Fabio Carvalho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as options in midfield. But it seems likely that next summer will see them make another play for Bellingham.
To access exclusive, unseen content from the Overlap Fan Debate, please visit Sky Bet’s Start of Season Hub
