Liverpool faces Chelsea at Stamford Bridge later today in the opening match of the Premier League season for the pair but the focus has almost exclusively been on the pursuit of Brighton’s Moisés Caicedo — and to some extent Southampton’s Roméo Lavia — over the last few days.
Whatever happens in the transfer market, Liverpool could really do with getting one over Chelsea to make a real statement at the very beginning of the new season. Given the number of changes that Mauricio Pochettino has had to oversee, it might not be the worst time to be facing his side. We asked Liverpool fan Nick Sapia from LFC Boston a few questions about the Reds before kick-off.
Well, everyone said they wanted a rebuild, right? I think the window has been solid to this point, though we can all acknowledge that further work remains. In the current market, Alexis Mac Allister is an absolute steal and a brilliant piece of work by the club. Dominik Szoboszlai looks like someone with massive potential, and the midfield is already leaps and bounds better than last season, though more depth is needed.
Liverpool will obviously need a defensive midfielder, although I don’t mind that solving that position has taken time. Amidst all the transfer nonsense with Chelsea, I hope the club has kept an eye on the defensive options as well. Ibrahima Konaté can’t play every week, and the “box midfield” system really starts to fall apart without him on the pitch. There’s been a lot of talk about a left-sided center back, but I still think the right side is more important, given the profile required to make the system work. I’m much more confident with Andy Robertson on the left than one of our current back-up options on the right.
Liverpool will obviously need a defensive midfielder, although I don’t mind that solving that position has taken time. Amidst all the transfer nonsense with Chelsea, I hope the club has kept an eye on the defensive options as well. Ibrahima Konaté can’t play every week, and the “box midfield” system really starts to fall apart without him on the pitch. There’s been a lot of talk about a left-sided center back, but I still think the right side is more important, given the profile required to make the system work. I’m much more confident with Andy Robertson on the left than one of our current back-up options on the right.
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If the club can sign another midfielder and a defender, it’s hard to imagine a better summer window. However, they’ll need to be decisive in the coming weeks to achieve that.
The pursuit of Roméo Lavia has dragged on quite a bit now. Is he the right target to sort Liverpool’s midfield if Moisés Caicedo proves impossible to snap up?
I guess we see why it’s dragged out for so long now. Even if Caicedo does join Chelsea, I am okay with the club looking at all options regarding a defensive midfielder. They clearly have a valuation for Lavia and are hesitant to go above it. I’m also skeptical Chelsea will sign both Caideo and Lavia, but I wonder if Liverpool will continue exploring other options rather than immediately pivoting back to Lavia.
Lavia is a long-term project. He doesn’t change much about how Liverpool will approach the season’s first few months, given that he’d need time to come up to speed (just look at how long it took Fabinho). When Liverpool decided to sell Fabinho, they accepted that there would be short-term uncertainty at the position for longer-term gain. That was 100 per cent the correct decision.
The midfield is already much, much improved with the additions of Mac Allister and Szoboszlai. Caicedo would be the perfect target to complete the midfield rebuild, but he’s far from the only one who can do that.
What are your expectations for this season? What would represent success?
Returning to the top four is the minimum; I think they will achieve it. From there, I don’t want to say everything else is gravy, but I like that they’re coming into the season without the burden of massive expectations.
Liverpool is really intriguing right now, and this is as excited as I’ve been for a season to start in a while. They are still among the most talented teams in the league with a very strong starting XI. They’ve taken one of the oldest squads in the Premier League and turned it into one of the youngest, which is exciting for the future.
The Europa League serves as both an opportunity to get valuable experience into new and younger players, while also offering a winnable trophy. I think they are a defensive midfielder and another defender away from being a team that can legitimately challenge for the Premier League title this season. Plus, they’re just going to be a lot of fun to watch this year.
What do you expect to see against Chelsea on the opening day? A chance to lay down a marker, or would you take a point?
It’s a mad game to start the season with — we already don’t completely know what we’ll get from the Reds (I’m hesitant even to attempt to pick the starting XI), but Chelsea are even more of an unknown quantity.
I think we’ll see a cagey first half, but with the way that Liverpool’s forwards have been playing so far this season and the firepower they can bring off the bench, I think Jürgen will try to pick a spot to go for the three points and lay a marker down. Given the events of the past few days with Chelsea, I hope the Reds batter them.
