Liverpool have been told that they could be just one ‘top level’ signing away from achieving a clean sweep of trophies this season.
Arne Slot has made a flawless start to life in charge of the Reds so far, winning all three Premier League games without conceding a goal, including an emphatic 3-0 romp away to Manchester United.
On The Kelly and Wrighty Show, Owen Hargreaves and Ian Wright were asked if LFC still need to sign a new defensive midfielder.
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The ex-Manchester United player replied: “To win the Champions League, they need a Rodri – well not a Rodri because he will probably win the Ballon d’Or – but they need somebody top level, and if they get that I think they could win everything.”
The former Arsenal striker then added that Martin Zubimendi, who turned down the opportunity to join Liverpool last month, ‘could be that guy’.
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The pursuit of Zubimendi over the summer made it clear that Liverpool were eager to add a top-class defensive midfielder to their squad, with Slot evidently not fancying Wataru Endo to be the Reds’ lynchpin in the number 6 role.
Ryan Gravenberch has excelled in that position in the early weeks of the season, but there’ll surely be sterner tests to come for the young Dutchman. Should he pass those with flying colours, though, maybe then the clamour for a new CDM will dissipdate.
There are no glaring weaknesses within our strongest starting XI for now, although squad depth will inevitably be tested once the fixtures pile up during the autumn and later on in the campaign.
A player of Rodri’s level could certainly make Liverpool even more fearsome than they already are, but to give the Manchester City star his due credit, there aren’t too many footballers of his ability going around at the moment.
The Reds continue to admire Zubimendi (Fabrizio Romano) and may try again to sign him in January, but if he’s still not for turning, perhaps Richard Hughes will have identified an alternative target of equal or superior quality by then…unless, of course, Gravenberch has proven to be a consistently high-class operator in the meantime.
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