‘Creaking at the seams’ – Liverpool told Arsenal, Man Utd wouldn’t swap any midfielders for Klopp’s

Joe Williams
Liverpool midfielder Fabinho is held off by Granit Xhaka

Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore doesn’t think Arsenal or Manchester United would swap any of their midfielders for Jurgen Klopp’s.

The Reds face the Gunners on Sunday in the late kick-off with eighth-placed Liverpool – who finished one point behind champions Manchester City last season – currently 29 points behind leaders Arsenal.

Klopp’s midfield players have got the most criticism this season with pundits and fans frustrated at their lack of creativity and protection for the Liverpool back four.

And ahead their match against Arsenal, Collymore reckons Liverpool have “punched above its weight” in recent years and claims the Gunners wouldn’t swap one of their midfielders with the Reds’.

Collymore wrote in the Daily Mirror: “Look at Liverpool’s midfield – it’s either too old or too young.

“The best days of Jordan Henderson and James Milner are behind them and Fabinho is approaching 30. Then they’ve got Bajcetic, Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones – we simply don’t know yet if they’re going to be good enough to play for Liverpool. That’s the reality of it. Yes, they have shown promise. But that’s it.

“City double-down on wages. They know release clauses are manageable for five or six of the richest teams in Europe – and they are ready to pay more than anyone. Liverpool can’t go to those levels. They’re now creaking at the seams.

“I don’t think that this current team has one midfielder that would displace Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey or Granit Xhaka in Mikel Arteta’s title-chasing Gunners side. With the greatest respect, I don’t think any of the Reds midfielders would be on Manchester United’s radar, either.

“I’m not saying they’re poor players. The club was riding a wave because their recruitment punched above its weight, because they had a manager who was an extraordinary motivator and because they had team spirit that was classic, old-school Liverpool. But now the owners have a choice.

“Come clean and admit they can’t ­compete – or sell the club. Even at ­£2billion, that would show a huge profit on the £300million they paid 13 years ago.

“I don’t think there would be as much push-back from Liverpool fans as there was with Manchester United supporters and the Glazers – definitely not in terms of a minority investment.

“I think the Kop faithful respect the fact that FSG have helped them win every trophy available, while at the same time ­acknowledging they don’t have the kind of money that, say, the Qataris have.

“In my opinion, Liverpool have over-performed. It’s asking a lot for them to keep going to the well, dropping the bucket and ­expecting it to come up full of quality, cut-price talent.

“So now it is make-or-break time. They either get fresh investment and new owners – or come up with an ­alternative, radical recruitment plan.

“Doing nothing guarantees getting left behind.”

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