Former chief executive backs Liverpool to sign £54m central midfielder

Liverpool should look to sign PSG midfielder Marco Verratti to replace Philippe Coutinho, according to Christian Pulsow.

Pulsow, who worked as a Director at Anfield between 2009 and 2011, wants the Reds to reinvest the £142million they have just received from selling Coutinho on an elite midfielder. According to BBC Sport

, the Reds have received as much as £142million as transfer fees from the sale of the Brazil international to Spanish and European giants Barcelona.

Purslow has suggested Liverpool should target PSG’s world-class operator Marco Verratti – using the example of N’Golo Kante, who has won titles for Leicester and Chelsea. Verratti is one of the best midfielders on the planet and is a world-class player. The 25-year-old Italian would be a fantastic signing for Liverpool.

“Go and buy Marco Verratti from PSG,” Pulsow was quoted in a report by Coventry Telegraph.

“Who has won the league in the last two years? Leicester and Chelsea. What was the common denominator? N’Golo Kante.

“Would he have made Liverpool better? Indisputably. He is a world-class player, I just think Liverpool have to aim high. I don’t want fine, I want brilliant, because they just sold brilliant. “Fine” gets you fourth, fifth, sixth.”

Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy has recommended the Reds to look closer to home, with Alexis Sanchez available for a cut-price fee.

“Are Liverpool trying to win the league? Or are they trying to slowly but surely grow and become a consistent top-four club?” Murphy said.

“I don’t know the answer to that, but you must have a spine of quality – at the moment they’ve got one.

“I’m putting it out there, I don’t know if he’d go because I’ve got no inside information, but if you’ve got that much money, and you don’t want to spend fortunes on £50m, £60m, £70m players, just go and give Sanchez whatever he wants, say, ‘Come and be our leader’.”

Verratti, a central midfielder by trade, would be an upgrade on what Jurgen Klopp’s side have at the moment and would boost our chances of finishing in the top four this season.

Purslow is right in his opinion that we should target the best, because the last time we sold an elite player in Luis Suarez, we suffered badly by replacing him poorly.