Liverpool are set to overhaul their midfield this summer and Jurgen Klopp has been urged to sign England international Kalvin Phillips after the Reds admitted defeat in their pursuit of Jude Bellingham.
Bellingham was understood to have been their top summer target, but his expected asking price of £100m+ and the interest of other clubs including Manchester United, Real Madrid and Manchester City means Liverpool are now looking at other options, with Klopp comparing a big-money transfer like Bellingham to a child asking for a Ferrari for Christmas.
And former Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino has claimed Bellingham would have been an "unnecessary" signing for Liverpool anyway and that they have made the right decision in walking away from the deal. "I love Jude Bellingham, I think he's a fantastic player, but I don't think he's necessary for Liverpool at the moment," Cascarino said on talkSPORT.
"I think they need way more of an engine room that was similar to what they had a couple of years ago, and that is winning the ball back. They need a ball-winning engine room in there. Two midfielders who can get the ball back quickly, because I think that would make a massive change to Liverpool.
"Jude is a fabulous talent and every club in Europe would want him, and Liverpool aren't in that ballpark. But I don't think he's necessary for Liverpool. I think there are more important types of players who need to come in before that luxury.
"They've got Thiago who is a fabulous footballer, but he's not a good defender, he doesn't do the things that are necessary to enable Liverpool to get the ball back quickly, and I think that's paramount for Liverpool." As a result, Cascarino believes Liverpool should target Phillips instead with the 27-year-old struggling for game time at City after making a £45m switch from boyhood club Leeds last summer.
All seven of Phillips' Premier League appearances so far this season have come off the bench and he was accused of returning from the World Cup "overweight" by City boss Pep Guardiola. Despite his struggles to make an impact at City, he has remained a regular in Gareth Southgate's England squads and Cascarino feels he is the kind of "fabulous ball-winner" Liverpool are crying out for.
"The most important thing is to sign two players who can play, but their main job is to win the ball back – a bit like the Jordan Henderson type," he added. "I like Kalvin Phillips. He's not been used at Man City. OK, Rodri's performances have been extraordinary, but I think Phillips is a fabulous ball-winner – we saw him enough at Leeds to know that.
"I think they've got to go back to their first port of call – make your team as hard to beat as they were before. They were brilliant in midfield with Henderson, Fabinho and Gini Wijnaldum. It's about rebuilding the backbone of the team, for me."
