Elliot Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White battle for the ball during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Manchester City at the City Ground
Photo by Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Liverpool clearly need another handful of players to complete their squad rebuild under Andoni Iraola.
The Reds have had a messy couple of years in the transfer window, decimating the group which won the Premier League with Arne Slot and replacing them with expensive signings who are yet to prove their worth.
Despite spending more than half a billion over the past two summers, Liverpool still look in need of something extra to make them competitive again. And according to Reds legend Steve Nicol, the dream additions of Elliot Anderson from Manchester City and Arsenal’s William Saliba would send Iraola’s team back to the top.
Andoni Iraola has the same number of points after 10 games as Arne Slot did last season (18). Have Liverpool improved or still not performing?
Give us your thoughts…
There are clear flaws with Liverpool but I actually think they’re ahead of schedule under Iraola. I expected a slower start
Slot's haul was higher than it should have been last season though, right? Those opening five or so games masked a lot of issues before it caught up with them. Iraola's team look to be building towards something, rather than just getting the rub of the green before a decline!
It took him a while to get going with Bournemouth too tbf. I rememebr his side came to Goodison and thy were the worst id seen in a long time, a few months later they were flying
Liverpool should sign Anderson and Saliba
Liverpool chose not to bolster their midfield this summer, instead putting faith in Trey Nyoni to step up after the sale of Curtis Jones.
Nyoni has impressed so far, but Iraola is still missing a properly dominant central midfielder in the mould of Anderson. Had Nicol been in charge of transfers, he would’ve had Liverpool involved in the race to sign the Geordie for £116m.
“I’d say Anderson at Man City,” the pundit told ESPN when asked which Premier League player he would sign to make Liverpool competitive again.
“I think he’d make a huge difference to Liverpool. I wouldn’t have a problem with Declan Rice. Elliot Anderson’s younger.”
READ MORE: Liverpool supporters explain why Andoni Iraola has improved on Arne Slot
Pushed to add more names to his list, Nicol also claimed that putting together an all French centre-back partnership of Jeremy Jacquet and Saliba would be next on his radar.
“I would like a Saliba at centre-back,” he said. “An all French centre-back pairing would be great. That would be my other one. Anderson and Saliba would make a huge difference to Liverpool.”
Nicol also claimed that the Reds need upgrades at both right and left-back, but did not put forward any potential names in either position.
“We need a left-back and a right-back,” he said. “Robbo [Andy Robertson] would still be better than what we’ve got, but, no, it was time to move on. When you move on you expect to be better, but it hasn’t worked out. I would have Robbo over Tsimikas and Kerkez, put it that way.”