Micah Richards has said that Liverpool could be ‘punished’ if they don’t address what he feels is a glaring chink in their armour.
The Reds got their Premier League campaign off to a winning start against Ipswich on Saturday, although the clamour for new signings remains as the end of the transfer window rapidly approaches.
Arne Slot successfully deployed a double pivot of Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister at Portman Road, but the ex-Manchester City defender feels that LFC still need to bring in a top-level number 6 this month.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football, Richards said: “I still think they need a holding midfielder. Having Gravenberch in there and Mac Allister, and [Dominik] Szoboszlai, all very good players, but I feel at times Ipswich got in a little bit too easy. Against the top teams, that may have been punished.”
In our view Liverpool’s midfield was excellent against Ipswich, although we take Richards’ point about stronger opponents making us pay if we’re too open in the middle of the park.
It’s apparent from the doomed pursuit of Martin Zubimendi that Slot is seeking a defensive midfielder who specialises in controlling the tempo of the play, rather than signing an out-and-out destroyer in the Fabinho mould.
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While Gravenberch and Mac Allister had enough about them to do a fine job on Saturday, the fear remains that they could be exposed in the double pivot when facing the Premier League’s big hitters.
We can fully understand why Richards feels that Liverpool still need a top-level number 6, and not just for squad depth once the workload increases with the added commitments of the Champions League and domestic cups.
Will Richard Hughes heed the pundit’s call and strengthen Slot’s hand before the 30 August transfer deadline? We won’t have to wait much longer to find out…
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