Liverpool legend Steve Nicol believes Klopp should not sign Sergio Ramos
In an interview with ESPN (h/t Liverpool Echo), ex-Reds defender Steven Nicol has pleaded Liverpool to not sign Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos. Nicol believes that Liverpool are better off signing someone like Leipzig’s 21-year-old centre-back Dayot Upamecano.
When asked in the interview to assess any potential Liverpool interest in Ramos, the former Liverpool right-back reiterated that Klopp is better off signing a younger defender. (h/t Liverpool Echo)
Speaking to ESPN, Nicol vehemently opposed the possibility of Liverpool signing the 2010 FIFA World Cup-winning defender, citing his age as a major reason.
“…You’d rather go for someone like Upamecano, at 21, who you’re going to have for a decade. It’s kind of a no-brainer.
“If you can’t get him, then you kind of start going down the list. Clearly, you want a younger player who is going to be there for some time. You really want to avoid stop-gaps, unless you’re in a real hole.”
No Liverpool fan would need a reminder that it was Sergio Ramos’ tackle that resulted in Mohamed Salah’s horrific shoulder injury in the 2019 UEFA Champions League final. This particular incident was met with widespread anger from Liverpool fans towards Ramos.
Salah’s teammate and friend Dejan Lovren even admitted to deliberately hurting Ramos in a World Cup match to “make him pay“. The Reds went on to lose the final 3-1, and an unfit Salah could not help Egypt qualify from the 2018 FIFA World Cup group stage.
Discarding the bad blood between Liverpool fans and Ramos, Nicol cheekily went on to add how the signing would not be the worst signing the Reds could make.
“So, listen, if they got Ramos it would only be for a couple of seasons. I think he’s on the wane a little.
“But it wouldn’t be the worst signing ever, he would do a job.”
We may have housed one of the most notorious practitioners of ‘dark arts’ in Luis Suarez but signing Sergio Ramos would be going too far. It is safe to say that our fans have still not forgiven the Spaniard for his antics in the 2019 UCL final.
Any move for him may not be met with unanimous approval by our fanbase but that is no reason to not pursue any solution that can help the team on the pitch. The Reds are hit with an unprecedented injury crisis and can use all the help they can get in January.
