If Saturday's horror show at Burnley proves anything, it's that Liverpool are in dire need of a tough, robust defensive-midfielder to protect the team's brittle, error-prone defence. Reds boss Jurgen Klopp continues to defiantly insist that the structure of the team is sound, but new reports suggest that he may finally be waking up to the reality.
On Sunday, Eurosport reported:
"Liverpool have offered Roma £18m for Leandro Paredes".
When asked last week about Paredes' future, Roman boss Luciano Spalletti told Corriere Dello Sport:
"Paredes is a strong player, but often strong players need to be sold. It even happened with [Gonzalo] Higuain. Paredes is a good player and I hope he remains in Rome."
Paredes had a decent game against Liverpool in the Reds' recent pre-season victory over Roma, and €21m for a talented (and fairly experienced) 22-year old international midfielder is arguably decent value (compared to, say, £35m for new Arsenal DM Granit Xhaka)
There are obvious benefits to signing another DM, but in this case, the biggest positive (IMO) is that Paredes - like many South American players - is physically robust, and rarely injured (only 3 games missed through injury in the last two years). Klopp, however, remains pigheaded about bringing in another midfielder, and when asked on Saturday about the possibility, he barked:
"I know you [questioners] would all buy a left-back but a midfielder? If one game should change my mind then I would be a real idiot".
It's been obvious for a years that Liverpool need another dedicated defensive-midfielder, so Klopp is being massively disingenuous here. Additionally, the Reds were defensively poor against Arsenal, too, so it's not just *one* game - it's Arsenal, Burnley, and the whole of last season. If Klopp can't see this, then it's a major problem.
With the greatest respect, if Klopp doesn't sign a defensive-midfielder before the end of the transfer window, then the label 'real idiot' will be a fitting and accurate description.
* Described by Marco Giampolo as 'excellent'
^ Jul 2016: Called up to the Argentina national team
On Sunday, Eurosport reported:
"Liverpool have offered Roma £18m for Leandro Paredes".
When asked last week about Paredes' future, Roman boss Luciano Spalletti told Corriere Dello Sport:
"Paredes is a strong player, but often strong players need to be sold. It even happened with [Gonzalo] Higuain. Paredes is a good player and I hope he remains in Rome."
Paredes had a decent game against Liverpool in the Reds' recent pre-season victory over Roma, and €21m for a talented (and fairly experienced) 22-year old international midfielder is arguably decent value (compared to, say, £35m for new Arsenal DM Granit Xhaka)
There are obvious benefits to signing another DM, but in this case, the biggest positive (IMO) is that Paredes - like many South American players - is physically robust, and rarely injured (only 3 games missed through injury in the last two years). Klopp, however, remains pigheaded about bringing in another midfielder, and when asked on Saturday about the possibility, he barked:
"I know you [questioners] would all buy a left-back but a midfielder? If one game should change my mind then I would be a real idiot".
It's been obvious for a years that Liverpool need another dedicated defensive-midfielder, so Klopp is being massively disingenuous here. Additionally, the Reds were defensively poor against Arsenal, too, so it's not just *one* game - it's Arsenal, Burnley, and the whole of last season. If Klopp can't see this, then it's a major problem.
With the greatest respect, if Klopp doesn't sign a defensive-midfielder before the end of the transfer window, then the label 'real idiot' will be a fitting and accurate description.
* Described by Marco Giampolo as 'excellent'
^ Jul 2016: Called up to the Argentina national team
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