What Liverpool FC Should Do

Keep, Assess, Sell: A Personal Perspective of What Liverpool FC Should Do

Goalkeepers:

Alisson – Keep – Best in the world and, despite injury issues, vital to our team.

Kelleher – Sell – He is a more than capable back-up option, but he is not as good as Alisson, and he is now at an age where he must need/ want first team football.

Pitaluga – assess (?) – I heard he has had a rough time on loan, but I don’t really know. Should be assessed to see if he can provide cover.

All other youngsters – assess.

Conclusions: We may need to dip into the market to buy a back-up, be it a veteran or a youngster, but first team is secure.

Full-backs:

Robertson – Sell – I love Robertson, but my reason for selling him is a combination of his age, mounting injuries, but most significantly the inverted fullback system which does not suit him at all and which has badly affected his impact for us. Slot apparently uses inverted fullbacks, and if so, Robertson just isn’t the answer sadly. It is a shame we have moved away from the system that benefited him, because that system benefited the entire team.

TAA – Keep – He is excellent on the ball, but he is not an inverted fullback, and defensively he gets too exposed. A new position may be the best option for him. Too much quality to even consider letting him leave.

Tsimikas – Sell – Unfortunately, not good enough and again not suited to the style of football we are currently playing.

Bradley – Keep – I would argue he’s a better inverted fullback than Trent, and I am certain he is a better defender. Looks to be the long term option for the position.

Beck – assess – I don’t know enough to comment, but if he is good enough, why not.

Gomez – Keep – Jack of all trades, His versatility is very useful. As long as Slot doesn’t ask him to push into midfield he should do well. The inverted fullback system is by far the biggest issue.

Conclusions: a left back looks to be the most necessary addition, but even that isn’t a guarantee. Given inverted fullbacks will likely feature in our future, I have no idea who I would even sign as the skill set for inverted fullbacks is very different from a typical fullback. I can’t wait until this fad passes.

Center backs:

Matip – release – A great servant to the club, but age and injury have caught up to him.

Van Dijk – Keep – He is aging, but I think he has been mostly excellent this season (the last few weeks aside) . It would be a huge risk to let such a huge, charismatic presence leave during a…