Image for Andoni Iraola is now “demanding” specific January signing to take Liverpool to the “next level”
Image for Andoni Iraola is now “demanding” specific January signing to take Liverpool to the “next level”
Liverpool’s squad is in need of reinforcements, but according to a new claim, there is one specific position that Andoni Iraola wants to see strengthened.
The Reds have a good group of players currently, with youngster Trey Nyoni becoming an important figure and being hailed by Iraola after Wednesday’s 6-3 win away to LASK in the Champions League:
“Trey is a player that I think, being very young with not a lot of minutes in the first team, he’s very mature. He understands the situations very well, he understands the game very well. Tactically, I think he’s really smart.
“But he has to continue doing the steps in the right direction. I’m confident with him. He has been involved, I think, in most of the last games, but he has to keep this level of performance, of training.
“If he has to play as a six, as an eight, he has to play one minute, he doesn’t have to play, he has to start and play all the game like yesterday – he has to be there, putting pressure also on the other midfielders.
“And I think it’s very good for us that we can put [in] these young players with not a lot of experience and they can perform in a competition like the Champions League or in the Premier League.”
Despite Nyoni’s rise, a respected source on X has now claimed that a defensive midfielder is at the forefront of Iraola’s thinking ahead of the January transfer window, as he looks to take his side up a gear:
“Andoni Iraola is demanding a new number 6 in January. He believes this is the priority position to take the team to the next level tactically.”
How much do Liverpool need to sign a new No.6?
Nyoni was so impressive against LASK, and is a young player with so much long-term potential, but that doesn’t lessen the need for a new No.6 to come in next year.
The Englishman is still learning and isn’t ready to start most weeks, while the likes of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai are all naturally attack-minded midfielders, which can affect the balance in the middle of the park.
Liverpool need an elite No.6 to add defensive nous, with Monaco’s Lamine Camara arguably the dream option, being lauded by manager Filipe Luis recently:
“Of everything I have seen, there is one player who stands out. I have never seen anything like it in 20 years, and that is Lamine Camara. He is a very different player from anything I have seen before. His ability to manage the field, his concentration, he is at a level far, far above average.”
That defensive midfield role is such a key position, as Fabinho showed when he arrived at Liverpool in 2018, and a similar signing to the Brazilian would help make the Reds a far greater force.
Adam Wharton is another who ticks plenty of boxes, even though he would cost a huge amount, with the Crystal Palace man bringing control, class and intelligence in front of the defence.