Liverpool‘s need for a specialist defensive midfielder was exposed once again as they were held 2-2 by Nottingham Forest on Saturday, with the Reds exposed on the counter-attack for the second week running.
Speaking ahead of kick-off, Steven Gerrard identified exactly where he feels Liverpool are falling short.
“There’s one area that hasn’t really had much focus, only really in the last week since the Newcastle game. I believe they need a specialist in the No. 6 position, that’s my opinion,” the Reds legend said.
“Now, the manager might have different ideas in terms of how he wants the team to look and his philosophy, but I think this team has missed a destroyer, someone who holds the middle of the pitch, who is a massive part of the spine since the team moved Fabinho on.
“I think that position’s been sorely missed, I don’t think they’ve got a specialist in that position. That can allow your Szoboszlai’s and your Gravenberch’s and your Mac Allister’s to go and join attacks, to make the back four secure. I think they miss that position badly.”
It’s an assessment that will resonate with Liverpool fans, and the match itself did little to ease those concerns, even though Andoni Iraola was encouraged by his side’s second half display: “It’s not the result we want. I think two very different halves, I think we were poor in the first half, even being poor we were unlucky in terms of their goal.
“We were very poor in the first half. We were much better in the second half. The intensity was different, if you are going to lose, you have to lose like in the second half! A lot more intense, more threatening, happy with second half but it was late in the game. Overall my feeling is the first half was poor. It’s not good enough. Second half we improved, we couldn’t finish the comeback.”
Iraola struck a patient tone when asked about transfer business, with the deadline looming on Tuesday evening: “We have been patient all summer, now we have to wait a couple more days and see how we finish and how the squad looks on the 2nd September. Honestly I’m looking forward to having who we have and the definitive squad, we can start working with this. It’s a matter of getting a proper squad and the club is working on it. I hope we can finish the market properly.”
And Fabrizio Romano has now provided clarity on one name repeatedly linked with Anfield – Lamine Camara.
Lamine Camara to Liverpool transfer update
Romano confirmed in his latest Youtube video on Saturday that the Reds have shown interest in the Monaco midfielder: “Many Liverpool fans asking me about Lamine Camara, it’s true that Liverpool were asking for conditions of the deal for Lamine Camara.
“But it was few weeks ago, it was in July when they were trying to explore this possibility. In recent days nothing really moved between Liverpool and Lamine Camara, but let’s see, we never know in the market what happens.”
Romano also confirmed it is Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea who are the most advanced for the tough-tackling 22 year-old, and reports in Senegal claim Chelsea are now closing in on Camara, with his medical already booked and the midfielder set to complete a move worth between £50m-60m in the next 24 hours.
So who else could Liverpool turn to? The latest reports link them with Bournemouth’s Alex Scott, though that would be a slightly unusual fit given the profile Gerrard was describing. Scott is a more progressive, box-to-box midfielder rather than the out-and-out destroyer type that’s been missing since Fabinho left Anfield, and it remains to be seen whether he’d genuinely solve the problem so many now see so clearly.