Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano is perhaps the best-sourced man in football media right now – if he says something is happening, it’s happening.
Speaking on his own Here We Go podcast, the Sky Sports and Guardian regular said not many players want to sign for Liverpool because of fierce squad competition.
“A lot of players now don’t want to join Liverpool [to] play seven matches. The big ones are coming back from their injuries and then [new signings] are on the bench for one season or more,” Romano said.
“So, at the moment, Liverpool are still with the same idea: We can stay with this team. If we have an opportunity, okay. If we don’t, we stay with this one.”
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It’s hard to argue with that thinking, to be honest. When stars like Xherdan Shaqiri are struggling for regular game-time at Liverpool, it’s hard to imagine where new players will fit in.
More specifically, Romano seems to be talking about defensive options – with ‘the big ones’ meaning Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez – and that makes even more sense.
A promising centre-half will take one look at Liverpool’s squad and see the regular starters will be back in action within six months and may fancy their chances elsewhere.
To be fair, if these players are not up for the fight – do we even want them in the first place?