Gary Neville has warned Liverpool that they may be missing a trick in not pushing to sign Brighton’s Moises Caicedo this summer, a player he believes could help the club challenge Manchester City.
The ex-Manchester United defender went a step further and claimed that, though he’s ‘a good player, Romeo Lavia isn’t yet the real deal.
“They should be going and getting Caicedo for him and going ‘there you go, that’s dealt with and sorted’,” the Monday Night Football presenter told The Overlap (via the Liverpool Echo).
“They’re trying to pinch someone from Southampton for £40m, he’s a good player, but Jurgen Klopp needs the real deal. If you’re talking about challenging Manchester City, they can’t do it with a player with potential, they need a player that’s real.
“I do think it will come back on the owners. They’re not investing in the team at the levels the other four or five teams are, they’re just not.”
The Seagulls ace enjoyed another fine campaign for Roberto De Zerbi’s men, helping steer the Amex-based outfit to a first European finish in the league in a midfield that formerly contained Alexis Mac Allister.
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There’s a clear appeal to Liverpool spending big on Caicedo, if such a move should appeal to the club’s decision-makers.
Beyond getting Neville off their backs over a perceived lack of spending in the market, it’s a move that would not only make us instantly better on the pitch but also cost a potential rival in the race for top four football.
Not that we should ever do business on the basis of purely weakening the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal, though it would be a huge shame to miss out on one of the obvious remaining fixes for our problem number six position.
We’d be delighted to see Lavia still complete a switch to Anfield, it has to be said, and there’s every indication that the Southampton teenager could turn out to be something of a bargain at £50m if he can realise his full potential.
But what a statement of intent it would be to see the club match its rivals with a mammoth fee for one of the English top-flight’s most exciting talents.