Liverpool are preparing January bids for Barcelona pair, Midfielder Seydoou Keita and experienced attacker David Villa. Despite the money spent by Liverpool over the last 12 months, the squad remains, arguably short of quality for a genuine title challenge. Sportsvibe.co.uk suggests that Kenny Dalglish is in touch with the Catalan side about the availability of the pair.
The report carries no formal quotes so it can only be regarded as speculation at this point. The question has to be asked, what would, if anything these signings bring to Liverpool Football Club apart from a coupe of hefty transfer fees for the accounts department to settle?
Well for starters, it’s clear that Liverpool lack a solid and experienced defensive midfielder. Lucas Leiva, although greatly improved over the second half of last season and this he’s still some way short of being what many would call a title winning midfielder. Certainly not as a defensive midfielder in any case. Liverpool clearly lack a disciplined holding midfielder to sit in front of the back four, and with the exception of Steven Gerrard, I don’t believe Liverpool have a player to deploy in that role. Charlie Adam, great prospect but more attack-minded for that position. Both he and Lucas seem to be playing too far up the field and doing similar jobs. Central midfielders do not protect the defense. The only other option, Jay Spearing is again, a similar type of player.
Keita fits the bill. Maturity. At 31 it’s worth Liverpool abandoning their policy of youth for the time being. If Fenway Sports Group want Champions League football next season, it’s clear the players Liverpool have are not currently experienced enough to fulfill that ambition. The drawback would be the reported £15m fee Barcelona would be insisting on, notwithstanding the fact that Keita is out of contract in the summer. Is this the best we can get for that money? I’m not so sure.
Secondly, it’s clear the Liverpool attack is lacking. I get the impression they rely too much on Luis Suarez right now. Andy Carroll for all his sizeable fee and reputation has not impressed me and the jury remains firmly out. The three-goal return from Carroll in all competitions is clearly not enough for a team of Liverpool’s aspirations. In fairness to Carroll he has come close on a number of occasions this term. Having said that Liverpool won’t be winning matches simply by “coming close”. Again, as for the midfield, experience is urgently required and David Villa certainly fits the bill as a seasoned and capable front man and at 29, he still has a couple of years left in him at the top level. As in the case of Keita the price is a concern. An alleged £35m for a 29 year-old? A bit rich for me. Especially seeing as he’s apparently surplus to requirements at the Camp Nou.
I don’t see this coming to fruition. It sounds too much like desperation and a waste of money all things considered. Liverpool’s ambition of Champions League qualification this season is a tall order and a tad ambitious. If they do it, it’ll be a massive achievement but I’d rather this was a season for consolidation and building for a concerted effort next time considering the emphasis on youth. Regardless of all the hype in the media, for the life of me, I can’t see that spending £50m on these two guys is much genuine help or improvement to the squad. There are better value players around for that money.
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