Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher thinks the Premier League giants need to make two more signings before the summer transfer window closes.
The Reds have been busy this summer as £95m has been spent to sign Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai from Brighton and RB Leipzig.
And they remain in the market for a midfielder after Fabinho and Jordan Henderson left to join the Saudi Pro League.
Liverpool looked likely to sign Moises Caicedo last week but the centre-midfielder has opted to join Chelsea and a record £115m deal has been
agreed with Brighton.
Jurgen Klopp’s side faced Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in their opening Premier League game of the 2023/24 season on Sunday afternoon. The
points were shared after Axel Disasi’s equaliser cancelled out Luis Diaz’s finish in the 1-1 draw.
Speaking post-match, Carragher claimed that Liverpool are in need of a “holding midfielder and an out-and-out defender”.
“Chelsea are a work in progress,” Carragher said on Sky Sports. “New manager, new players. I think they’ve been the better team today, there’s no
doubt about that. The big worry for me with Liverpool is defensively.
“The last action sums it up as they had a corner and they nearly conceded a goal at the other end. Liverpool need a holding midfielder. They need a
real defender, an out-and-out defender who can play right across that back four.”
READ MORE: Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool… 16 Conclusions as new-look rivals play out a familiar stalemate in the Caicedo Derby
Carragher also thinks it’s “not right” that Liverpool agreed a fee with Brighton before they “got a deal done with the player”.
“Liverpool, I think for a long time, have had the best structure in terms of getting transfers done and getting it over the line,” Carragher added.
“Even in this window and going back to January, Cody Gakpo was just announced. There was no real sort of build-up. Szoboszlai, there was talk the
day before that he was going to come in and it was done the next day.
“Liverpool, it seems to me, they’ve got a deal done with the club but they haven’t really got a deal done with the player – and that’s just not right.”
He continued: “How anyone now agrees a fee with a club and then can’t get a deal over the line with a player, that’s just not the right thing to do. You
don’t put a bid in unless you know the player’s going to come.
“It just doesn’t feel like how Liverpool have done business over the last five or six years under Jurgen Klopp and it just feels like a little bit of a mess.
“It’s a little bit of a panic because Liverpool have to buy someone now between now and the end of the window to fill that position. Everyone out there
knows that and it puts them in a bit of a precarious position.”
READ MORE:
Micah Richards names signing Liverpool have to make to challenge for title
Micah Richards has tipped Liverpool to challenge for the Premier League title if they can somehow sign Moises Caicedo.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Super Sunday coverage, the pundit suggested that the Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder would give Liverpool’s squad the
boost in quality needed to push for the biggest prize in English football.
Liverpool this week made a Premier League record £110m offer for Caicedo. However, Chelsea have since come in with a bid of their own to bring the
Brighton midfielder to Stamford Bridge.
With the Blues’ proposal worth £115m, Liverpool are now on the verge of missing out on Caicedo, who looks set to join Chelsea despite their lack of
European football and the unreliability of the entire club structure.
Indeed, Liverpool signing Caicedo would be a miracle at this stage, yet Richards believes the midfielder could be the difference in the Reds
challenging for Europe or the Premier League title.
The pundit said: “He is a quality player, and what he can add in that midfield in terms of, he plays it simple, he is disciplined, such a young age as
well. I think if he goes to Liverpool, Liverpool will mount a real challenge.”
Liverpool have to listen to Richards and go again for Caicedo
Whilst all hope might now seem lost for Liverpool in the race to sign sign Caicedo, there’s still a small chance that the Reds can produce another
miracle in their bid to bring the midfielder to Anfield.
With Chelsea yet to reach a total agreement with Brighton, Liverpool have an opportunity to strike a deal with the Seagulls for Caicedo, who could be
convinced to move to Merseyside this summer.
It’s a long shot and one that is likely to fail, but Liverpool can’t allow Chelsea to sign Caicedo when there’s still a chance that the midfielder could be
brought to Anfield this window.
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