Gary Neville has suggested that FSG could live to regret missing out on Moises Caicedo if he doesn’t sign for Liverpool in the summer transfer window.
Both Jamie Carragher and Neil Jones have also advocated the Brighton midfielder as an ideal candidate for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
While the 21-year-old has been linked with the Reds of late (Football Insider), Chelsea currently seem to be in the driving seat, having already submitted an £80m offer for the Ecuadorian, which was rejected (The Athletic).
The Seagulls’ asking price for Caicedo is believed to be £100m (Football Insider), but despite that lofty valuation, Neville thinks Liverpool are missing a trick by instead pursuing Romeo Lavia from Southampton for half the price.
Speaking on The Overlap, the Sky Sports pundit claimed that Klopp has been ‘shielding‘ FSG, saying of the Reds manager: “He’s doing an unbelievable job, he’s done the best job of anybody I believe in the last seven, eight years, [with] the budget he’s had and the spend that he’s had.
“But he can’t keep doing it, he can’t keep doing it. He needs that money to be able to compete. They should just be going and getting Caicedo now for him and saying ‘right, there you go, that’s dealt with, it’s sorted, it’s £100m’, but they’re not.
“They’re trying to pinch someone off Southampton for £40m who’s a good player, don’t get me wrong, but Jurgen Klopp needs the real deal.
“They can’t challenge Manchester City with a player who’s got potential. They need to do it with a player who’s real. I do think it’s going to come back on the owners at some point.”
We’d certainly love to see Caicedo at Anfield, having been simply magnificent for Brighton last season, but with Liverpool continuing to fall short of Southampton’s £50m valuation for Lavia despite making three bids, we can’t see them suddenly splurging twice as much on another midfielder.
You can view Neville’s comments in full below, via The Overlap on YouTube: