‘They will struggle’… 26-year-old told he could find things very difficult if he signs for Liverpool this summer

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Nobody knows quite what the next six months or so will look like for Liverpool.

Safe and content under the stewardship of Jurgen Klopp for the past nine years or so, the Reds about to set foot out into the abyss. What lies in wait? Who can be sure.

What we do know is that Liverpool will continue to be linked with transfer regardless of their managerial situation. With that in mind, the Reds have been credited with an interest in Fulham centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo. Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly is another to have been mentioned. But according to former Liverpool goalkeeper David James, both would ‘struggle’ at Anfield.

“Bournemouth had a very good run earlier on in the season and because they were doing so well, you would have thought that some of their players could do well in a top team,” James told GGRecon. “However, I think the issue regarding Tosin Adarabioyo and Lloyd Kelly potentially coming in, is who are they going to replace in Liverpool’s team?

“When it comes to getting game time at Liverpool, then I think that Tosin could get more time out of the pair of them because he’s got plenty of experience, but realistically I think both of them would struggle.

“I’m not saying that either Tosin and Lloyd can’t eventually be good enough, but I believe the difficulty for them will be that they will struggle to get the opportunities to prove that they can be good enough. That’s the issue.”

James warns Tosin against Liverpool move

While we agree with James to a large extent here, we think he’s also missing the point a little.

Should either Tosin or Kelly come in, they obviously wouldn’t be doing so as potential starters for Liverpool. That’s clear.

But with Joel Matip out of contract, the Reds could do with another option at centre-back. Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate may be the favoured starters, but they need competition beyond that.

Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah will likely still be around. But with Gomez providing cover at full-back and Quansah still inexperienced the new manager may want someone else in besides.

In that scenario a Kelly or – especially – a Tosin would be appreciated. They wouldn’t play every week, but they’d still get 15 to 20 games per season. Both players are good enough for that.

Crucially as well, the two defenders are available on a free transfer at the end of the season. Kelly is 25 while Tosin is 26. They’re a good age profile to provide back-up while not necessarily being expected to develop into starters – but can still improve, too.

Another string to the two players’ bow’s is that they qualify as home-grown. With Liverpool struggling a little in that regard, you can see the attraction here.

If the question is are these two Premier League centre-backs good enough to be regular starters for the Reds, then we’d say no. If it’s would they be smart squad signings, then the answer is most definitely yes.