John Aldridge has made some odd claims in his column for the Echo today…
Our former striker, clearly impressed with what he saw at the weekend, has penned a piece speaking up the possibility of Liverpool signing Fulham stars Ryan Sessegnon and Aleksandar Mitrovic.
On the teenage left-back, Aldridge thinks we should go all out to beat other clubs to his signature: “He’s still only 18 but has almost played 100 senior games already,” he writes.
“I know a lot of clubs are interested in him but he can play at either full-back or in midfield and you can see he’ll go far that lad.”
And on Mitrovic, the ex-Ireland international considers him the kind of physical target-man we currently lack.
“He gives you something that little bit different and I like him as a squad player,” Aldridge continued.
“The way Liverpool play they could do with someone who provides a bit of diversity and a Plan B.”
On Sessegnon, we’d argue Aldridge has a point. The teenager is clearly a prodigal talent and he actually should have scored against us on Sunday. With Alberto Moreno likely to leave on a free at the end of this season, Sessegnon would provide fantastic competition for Andy Robertson, but also be able to play further forward, in Sadio Mane’s position.
Mitrovic makes little sense to us. The idea of this ‘Plan B’ drives us crazy, to be honest. Pep Guardiola doesn’t use one. Maurizio Sarri doesn’t, and Jurgen Klopp certainly doesn’t. ‘Plan B’ really means, ‘lump it into the box if you’re losing and have run out of ideas’.
Klopp had Christian Benteke on his books and offloaded the Belgian at the first possible opportunity. Fulham paid almost £30m for Mitrovic in the summer and will not sell cheaply, even if they’re relegated.
Our sights should be solely set on attackers who directly complement our style of football – such as Xherdan Shaqiri – who has taken to life at Liverpool beautifully.
