Liverpool could really use a player like Franck Kessie and their bench against West Ham United shows it. The Reds lack certain options.
Jurgen Klopp named a strong Liverpool XI to play West Ham United, as expected. He named a very strong bench, too, with even Diogo Jota failing to make the starting names.
But there was one problem with the bench – it was overwhelmingly attacking. Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Takumi Minamino, Divock Origi and Jota are all attacking players. In fact, all started their careers as wingers or strikers.
Joe Gomez and James Milner were the lone ‘defensive’ players for Liverpool there and it’s debatable how defensive Milner is. He, too, started life as a forward.
Many of these players have since become midfielders, of course, but none of them offers much solidity. Gomez does, certainly, as a centre-back. That leaves Milner to cover any other defensive role – and he’s 36.
The stars who are out, Thiago and Roberto Firmino, aren’t defensive players either. There’s a real lack of them in the Liverpool squad right now and as Milner ages, the Reds’ have fewer and fewer options to shake things up.
Franck Kessie and Liverpool
If Liverpool do want to sign a new midfield player to solidify things, Kessie should probably be near the top of their list. Barcelona are reportedly close to his signature, per Marca, but they’ve previously claimed that the Reds are big admirers.
Kessie is out of contract this summer, for one thing, and appears to be a very good fit for what Liverpool want. One look at that bench – as scary as it is going forward – tells us that the Reds should have eyes on Kessie.
BBC pundit Pat Nevin called Kessie a ‘very special’ player earlier in the season and we absolutely go along with that. He’s brilliant physically, adept on the ball and offers enough versatility to carve out a role in the Liverpool squad.
And we think that’s a role it could really use.
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