Liverpool have spent the majority of their time and resource this summer re-shuffling their midfield department, though transfer insider Dean Jones has revealed a potential problem in the engine room, while speaking to GIVEMESPORT.
The merry-go-round of midfielders at Anfield have represented a changing of the guard, but Jones is unsure whether it’ll be enough.
Liverpool transfer news – latest
Jurgen Klopp would have entered this summer’s transfer market with wholesale changes in mind given how poorly they performed in their subpar 2023/24 campaign. Dominik Szobszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Wataru Endo have all entered the fray for a combined price of £113m per Transfermarkt, while senior bodies such as Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Fabinho all called time on their Anfield spells this summer.
Per BBC Sport, a fee of £34m for Bayern Munich midfielder Ryan Gravenberch has been agreed and so the 21-year-old Dutchman will be joining the aforementioned trio as the last piece Klopp’s midfield overhaul. However, concerns have begun to grow in the Anfield camp as Joao Palhinha’s scheduled move to Bayern collapsed after the German outfit and Fulham failed to reach an agreement in regard to the fee before Germany’s 5pm cut-off point.
As such, Gravenberch’s switch to the English giants hung in the balance, though MailOnline report they remain confident on landing a deal. The report suggests that Gravenberch’s representatives believe that all the necessary paperwork has been penned and that he is on course to become an official member of Klopp’s squad before the transfer deadline tonight.
However, when all the pieces of the puzzle seemed to be coming together for the Anfield side, transfer insider Jones has highlighted a ‘problem’ that Klopp and his entourage may have on their hands off the back of their lofty summer spend.
Net Spend on Summer Deadline Day Transfers 2002-2021 Excluding Undisclosed fees | |
|---|---|
Club | Fees received |
Chelsea | £108m |
Arsenal | £104m |
Tottenham | £96m |
Man United | £78m |
Everton | £54m |
Man City | £50m |
Leicester | £49m |
Crystal Palace | £44m |
West Ham | £41m |
Stoke | £31m |
All fees according to Sky Sports | |
What did Dean Jones say about Liverpool?
Jones insisted that, although they could become one of the most exciting teams in the Premier League thanks to their summer business, he still has reservations over how their midfield will glue together, especially in terms of game management.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said: “I really like the make-up of this squad, and they should be one of the most exciting teams we see across this season. Liverpool have at least tried to recover from the losses of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and James Milner in the middle of the park, but there is a nagging doubt that the lack of Premier League experience, particularly in terms of game management, could end up being a problem. I’m definitely backing them for top four but at the start of the season I tipped them to push as high as second. I’m wondering now if that might have been expecting too much.”