Former Premier League striker Bobby Zamora thinks that Liverpool may try to sign Declan Rice as a ‘replacement’ for Jordan Henderson.
“There’s only a handful of clubs that would be able to afford him at that transfer fee,” said Zamora when asked where Rice would be playing next season via Stadium Astro (5mins 50secs).
“I would’ve said Chelsea, (but) they’re not doing anything I don’t think for a little while. Maybe Liverpool. Henderson’s replacement, possibly.”
Fellow guest, former Republic of Ireland international Stephen Kelly, agreed with Zamora’s take.
“That’s the one that jumps out for me, because I’m thinking how he fits a system,” said Kelly. “What would get you to leave West Ham, the club you love? To go and play for a manager like Jurgen Klopp.”
That’s true of course – every player would love to play for Liverpool’s charismatic boss. But there’s simply no way that Liverpool would pay the kind of money needed to take Rice from The Hammers.
Besides, Henderson isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The captain recently signed a new contract until 2025 and no player has played in more games than he has this season.
Building for the future
There is some sound logic in Kelly and Zamora’s claims. As he will turn 32 this summer, Liverpool will need to replace Henderson at some stage.
But Rice looks more like a natural fit for Fabinho in Liverpool’s number 6 position, rather than the more forward-thinking Henderson.
Despite this, Kelly thinks that it is an area of the pitch that Klopp needs to address over the coming window.
“The way Liverpool went and bought Van Dijk and bought Alisson, because they pinpointed a pivotal role they needed to replace to move the team forward,” said the former right-back.
“Declan Rice would go in there and absolutely love playing for Jurgen Klopp.”
Kelly is right that having addressed the two positions as weaknesses, Liverpool paid the big money needed to secure Virgil Van Dijk and Alisson Becker.
But with Fabinho around, there is no need to spend such a big fee on a player like Rice. If Liverpool are prepared to throw somewhere in the region of £100m at a potential Henderson replacement, they should turn their attention to Jude Bellingham.
The 18-year-old is five years younger than Rice and looks far more like Henderson in his style of play.
Rice has Premier League experience that Bellingham does not. But having cut his teeth in the Championship as a 16-year-old and since excelled in the Bundesliga and Champions League, the Borussia Dortmund midfielder should have no trouble making the adjustment needed.
It promises to be a busy summer for Liverpool. However, we think we can safely rule this one out.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
