The Real lesson.. Klopp needs 2 keepers, 1 defender, 1 midfielder & 1 more striker
FOR me, Liverpool’s main lesson from their Champions League final defeat is their squad isn’t deep enough.
If they are genuinely to compete with Manchester City – and even Manchester United –some quality signings are essential.
They need two goalkeepers. Loris Karius (above) made two very bad mistakes against Real Madrid and, I’ve said it before in this column, it is obvious he is not at the level of David De Gea.
I’ve never thought either Karius or Simon Mignolet have the quality necessary to win a title.
Liverpool need to go for Gianluigi Donnarumma at AC Milan. Spend the big dough – £50million, £60m, £70m – whatever it takes. They also need to recruit a very good back-up goalkeeper, who has lots of experience – the likes of Joe Hart or Gianluigi Buffon or Iker Casillas.
The second issue for me is an over-reliance on Mo Salah.
Adam Lallana’s lack of match fitness was evident when he came on for the injured Salah on Saturday.
And as soon as Salah departed, Liverpool had nobody to stand up and take on the mantle and say, ‘This is going to be my final’.
I would offload somebody like Danny Ings, get a few quid for him and then add one or two promising youngsters. Go out, look around the world and find someone 19, 20 or 21, who is happy for a year or two to play second fiddle to Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Salah, but who could come on and make a real impact.
They have acted quickly to land Brazil holding midfielder Fabinho from Monaco, while James Milner isn’t getting any younger. Jordan Henderson at times on Saturday was stalked by the imperious Luka Modric.
So I think they need two keepers, one more centre-back, someone to partner Naby Keita and one out-and-out forward to flesh out the squad from 13, 14 good players to 22, 23 over the next couple of seasons.
That is what you need to win a Premier League title. There are plenty of positives, and Liverpool have reached two European finals in three years.
But if they want to get back to the top table of English football and win the marathon rather than a six-game sprint in the FA or League Cup or the 13-game sprint in the Champions League, their squad has to be almost double the size it is now.
Look at Manchester City– two top-quality players in every position.
Jurgen Klopp must want to send the signal that he needs a squad like City’s. He’s got to say to the owners, ‘I deserve it. I’ve been to finals, now give me the big dough and let me say how I spend it’.