5 players Liverpool could target in the summer
By Liam Bekker
Their Premier League campaign has only just concluded but Liverpool’s attention will already be on next season. Here are five players they could sign.
Liverpool’s domestic campaign drew to a close recently with the Reds narrowly missing out on the Premier League title. All attention will now turn to the upcoming Champions League final but sporting director Michael Edwards and his team will be working behind the scenes to find the right players to bolster the squad in the summer.
It’s unlikely that there will be wholesale changes but a number of additions will need to be made to replace departing players. The likes of Simon Mignolet and Nathaniel Clyne are all but certain to leave while James Milner, Alberto Moreno and Daniel Sturridge are all out of contract.
It’s not just about adding numbers, though. Liverpool will need to recruit players of the caliber to match the quality of squad depth boasted by title rivals Manchester City. Here are five players who fit the bill.
Ryan Sessegnon
Alberto Moreno looks set to end his five-year affiliation with Liverpool at the end of the season and the Reds will be on the look out for a new left-back. Bournemouth-bound Lloyd Kelly, who excelled in the Championship this season, was strongly linked as the man to provide cover for Andrew Robertson but there’s another English starlet who could be better suited to the job.
With over 100 senior club appearances to his name, 18-year-old Ryan Sessegnon’s experience belies his age. The Fulham full-back, who spends more time as a winger these days, had his first taste of Premier League this season after earning promotion from the Championship. While his maiden foray into the top-flight didn’t go particularly well — for him personally or for the relegated Cottagers — the experience of going to toe-to-toe with the some of the best players in the world will have been a valuable one.
In a Liverpool side that values the attacking qualities of full-backs as much as their defensive ones, Sessegnon would fit right in. The 2018 Championship Player of the Year possesses the raw natural talent and energy that would see him contribute towards Liverpool’s already potent attack, whether operating as a full-back or further up the pitch. He scored two goals and recorded six assists in the league this season despite Fulham’s struggles and would no doubt improve on those numbers at Anfield in the long run.
That’s not to say he’s the finished product. A degree of defensive naivety is still apparent in his game which was highlighted during parts of the season. With Fulham trading their forward-thinking model for a more reserved approach, Sessegnon struggled to excel in a purely defensive role, particularly with Joe Bryan seen as the more reliable option in the position. He would need to overcome his defensive shortcomings if he’s to succeed at a club like Liverpool but at 18 he has time on his side. Serving in a squad role behind a player like Robertson would only see him improve.
Despite enduring a difficult campaign, he remains one of the most highly-rated youngsters and will no doubt have a number of suitors, with the likes of Tottenham and RB Leipzig said to be on his trail. Liverpool would do well to beat of the opposition and obtain the signature of a player who could have a very big future in the game.