HE’S THAT GOOD’: OWEN HARGREAVES SAYS LIVERPOOL WOULD WIN TITLE IF THEY SIGNED LONDON-BASED STAR

Owen Hargreaves believes that if Fulham player Joao Palhinha were a member of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool team, they would be the Premier League champions.

The Manchester United championship winner believes that Liverpool is “missing” a defensive-minded midfield player in order to win the premier league in English football.

The Reds cut Fabinho loose in the summer after he signed a deal to play in the Saudi Pro League. Joao Palhinha was among the numerous players the club was linked to.

The Portugal international caught the attention of major European teams, notably Bayern Munich, with an incredible debut season for newly promoted Fulham.

However, Hargreaves believes the 28-year-old should have transferred to Anfield instead.

He expressed this opinion to Premier League Productions on October 30, 23, at 2:40 p.m., after the player scored for Fulham during their 1-1 tie at Brighton over the weekend.

Liverpool did refresh their midfield with Brighton star Alexis Mac Allister joining, along with the ever-impressive Dominik Szoboszlai, highly-rated youngster Ryan Gravenberch and perhaps the defensive-minded of them all, Wataru Endo.

Joao Palhinha to Liverpool

“I think they are missing one player and that’s a defensive midfield player,” said Hargreaves. “I think if Palhinha plays for Liverpool, then they can win the league. He is that good.”

Liverpool’s defence

It’s improving and getting better, with back-to-back clean sheets in the Premier League, including during the win over Nottingham Forest from the weekend.

But those on Merseyside are yet to keep a clean sheet on the road and that needs to change as soon as possible, or else they won’t battle for the title.

It’s still early days to make a judgment call on what will or won’t happen, but one thing is for sure, Liverpool is in the mix so far.

And a big reason behind that is their ruthless and devastating attack, with Mohamed Salah getting on the scoresheet for the eighth time this season.

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Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai has already reached the same category as Mohamed Salah at Anfield. His performance on Sunday went under the radar.

Even though Darwin Núñez has advanced and Luis Díaz and Diogo Jota have returned to fitness, Liverpool has a lot more offensive firepower this season.

Jürgen Klopp’s team also appears to be much more stable defensively.

However, the largest change is unquestionably in midfield.

By the end of the previous campaign, Curtis Jones was already a significant player for Liverpool.

Now, Ryan Gravenberch, who will be a huge asset once he reaches full speed and sharpness, and the very outstanding Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister have joined him in a redesigned center department.

That area of the pitch for Klopp has gone from being an obvious weakness to a major strength.

As just one example, last season’s game with Nottingham Forest finished 3-2 as a shaky Liverpool just about got over the line;

this time around, its midfield — with Mac Allister having arguably his best game to date — was completely dominant. The visitor was offered no hope of a way back into the contest.

Already, that has become the norm. Szoboszlai, for instance, did not have an especially amazing game, but the Hungarian was quietly exceptional.

The 23-year-old came off the pitch with two assists, had a 93 per cent pass accuracy, and buzzed around the pitch with the same level of energy that he always does.

This was not a bad performance from Szoboszlai, but he is a player who brings something to the table even when that is the case.

Even if he is having an off day in terms of his creative abilities, he will still be able to provide a major contribution in the form of his aggressive and intelligent pressing.