Former Arsenal star Charlie Nicholas questions Liverpool's summer transfer business after a record spend in June for the champions
The arrival of Milos Kerkez at Liverpool this week has taken the club's summer spending past the £200m mark
The arrival of Milos Kerkez at Liverpool this week has taken the club's summer spending past the £200m mark
(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Former Arsenal favourite Charlie Nicholas believes Florian Wirtz's transfer won't prove to be "a massive jump forward" for Premier League champions Liverpool. And the former Scotland international has also claimed the addition of Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth is not a huge upgrade on Andy Robertson at left-back.
The Reds confirmed the £116m addition of Wirtz last week in a deal that could become a British record if the add-ons are achieved, while the capture of Kerkez at £40m was also confirmed on Thursday.
Both targets are part of what has so far been a hugely exciting transfer window so far for the Reds, who will welcome the June additions alongside £29m pair Jeremie Frimpong and Giorgi Mamardashvili to pre-season training on July 7.
However, Nicholas, who won the League Cup with Arsenal in 1987, scoring twice in their 2-1 Wembley win over Liverpool, remains unconvinced by the champions' summer business so far, which has cost more than £200m, telling Sky Bet: “Liverpool have made some interesting moves so far this window.
"Is Milos Kerkez going to be better than Andy Robertson? I don’t think so and don’t think their defence has drastically improved.
"Florian Wirtz is a fantastic signing, but he may take time to settle - the buzz is mainly around the big fee paid, like when Arsenal signed Declan Rice.
"Everyone at the time thought that fee was ridiculous, but he’s proved to be a valuable signing. I’m sure Wirtz will be too, but I don’t think it’s a massive jump forward for Liverpool.
“As for Manchester City, they’ve signed well, but not overwhelmingly so. They need to replace Kevin De Bruyne and get far more out of Phil Foden, and the new signings will take time to settle in.
"The big thing they are waiting for is Rodri’s return from injury but defensively I don’t see them being much better than last season. I think the league is a three-horse race again - Arsenal, Manchester City, and Liverpool.”
Nicholas also gave his verdict on Darwin Nunez, who is the subject of interest from Napoli, adding: “Nunez has good assets - his pace, movement, bravery - but his big disappointment has been his erratic finishing.
"It’s as if the pressure got too much for him. When you see Luis Diaz and Mo Salah being calm in important moments, he just never seemed to produce that. When the pressure is on you, and you’re not getting in the team, and it sounds like he’s had rows with Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot, asking why he’s not in the team, and they would’ve probably said the same as me.
“He’s not handled the pressure of being a finisher for a club this well. Saying that, we’re waiting on one big striker transfer in the Premier League that will set a domino effect for a lot of clubs.
"I think he could still do a great job in the Premier League, but I don’t think he’ll be looking to stay - he should go somewhere else in Europe and re-establish himself. He needs a clean break.”