Michael Owen says the best players at Liverpool aren’t getting any younger
At the conclusion of the summer transfer window this season, the major problem that stood out was the fact that Liverpool did not buy a recognised starter midfielder. Deadline day saw Arthur Melo move to the Reds on a loan deal but he is now set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
But the problem of an ageing squad still persists. Most of Liverpool’s midfielders are over 30 years old and the squad is in a transitioning phase right now. In 2017-18, Liverpool had the youngest average squad age in the Premier League.
This season, at 27y and 342d, Liverpool’s squad is 17th in the youngest average squad age list. Many pundits have called out the lack of depth in Liverpool’s squad as well this season, and Michael Owen, speaking to BT Sport (h/t The Mirror), is the latest on that list.
Owen highlighted this issue speaking with and went on to express his concern for the increasing average age of the Liverpool squad.
“The worry for Liverpool is a lot of their best players are their older ones. The [Virgil] van Dijks, the Salahs, [Jordan] Henderson, Fabinho, they’re players that are 30, or approaching 30, or in Henderson’s case well into their thirties. So they’re the ones they’ve got to worry about.”
Ageing Squad for the Reds
The last transfer window saw Liverpool sign Darwin Nunez (23), Fabio Carvalho (19) and Calvin Ramsay (19) but these are players for the long term. Additionally, most of Liverpool’s best players including Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah have breached the 30-year-old mark.
There is an urgency for young players who are capable of starting games and winning games for Liverpool, and Jude Bellingham is one name that has stood out among others, linking the youngster with a move to Merseyside.
Lack of depth in certain positions has gone on to hurt Liverpool furthermore and we cannot bank on these said players above the age of 30 to perform at a consistent level. The club should focus on the long-term aspect and recruit players who could possibly make a difference soon after switching.
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Presently, Jurgen Klopp is dealing with a squad that is not the youngest, but the players have been performing well over the course of years.
This season though, with the players not at their best, the need for new bodies just got into the faces of the people behind the scenes at the club. And hopefully, we see some quality additions to the squad next summer.
