Liverpool fans have had plenty of painful transfer near-misses to look back on in recent years.
The Reds have generally been prolific in the market under FSG, but a truly world-class midfield signing has often eluded them.
Jude Bellingham, Moises Caicedo, Declan Rice and Aurelien Tchouameni have all been heavily linked with Liverpool, only to end up elsewhere. Less high-profile names such as Martin Zubimendi and Romeo Lavia have also slipped through the net.
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With that in mind, Rousing The Kop readers on TalkingPoints have been debating which midfield miss they would most love to correct.
Liverpool fans pick Jude Bellingham as the biggest midfield transfer miss
A poll was put to readers with what we viewed as Liverpool’s four biggest midfield misses.
Bellingham came out on top with 37.50% of the vote, narrowly ahead of Caicedo on 31.25%. Rice finished third with 18.75%, while Tchouameni came in fourth with 12.50%.
For many supporters, Bellingham remains the one that hurts most. Liverpool tracked him for so long that it almost felt inevitable at one point, only for Real Madrid to win the race.
“Bellingham easy,” one fan wrote. “Such a player who could have been amazing for us.”
Another added: “Bellingham would have been crazy, could probably do with Rice more at the moment though.”
That probably sums up the debate well. Bellingham feels like the emotional miss, but there is a strong argument that Liverpool need a different profile more.
Caicedo was the closest challenger in the poll, and plenty of readers clearly still think he is the midfielder Liverpool should regret missing most.
“As much as I’d love to see Jude in a Liverpool shirt, I think Caicedo fixes our midfield,” one supporter said. “And yes, I’d have him over Rice.”
Another agreed, writing: “Moises Caicedo. He has been superb for Chelsea.”
A third made the point even more directly: “Caicedo is the only piece that is missing in our midfield.”
Rice also had his backers after becoming such a major player for Arsenal.
“Most definitely Declan, total game changer,” one fan said.
Another simply added: “Rice is the best.”
In the end, Bellingham won the vote, and that makes sense. As one reader put it: “You sense Bellingham would have generated the better connection with the Liverpool fans.”
That is probably the key. Caicedo or Rice may have fixed a more obvious tactical issue, but Bellingham still feels like the one that stung Liverpool fans the most.
Ironically, Tchouameni hardly got a mention. He’s probably the only one Liverpool can realistically put right. That’s the torture of the transfer market for you.
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