Jamie Carragher has urged Liverpool to ‘go for it’ in the last week of the transfer market, naming two places where he believes Jurgen Klopp’s side might benefit from additions.
The Reds fought back from a goal down to beat Newcastle 2-1 on Sunday evening at St James’ Park, with Darwin Nunez netting twice, including the game-winning goal in the 93rd minute.
Liverpool have already signed Alexis MacAllister from Brighton, Wataru Endo from Stuttgart, and Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig this summer.
Despite the additions, the Merseyside club has also lost numerous key players, including Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, and James Milner.
Speaking after their win today, Carragher admitted that he doesn’t believe Liverpool’s squad is good enough to challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title at the moment, but added that if the Reds make two key signings this week in the transfer window, they could rival Pep Guardiola’s side this season.
‘For the previous four or five years, Liverpool have been Manchester City’s main opponents,’ the ex-Liverpool defender told Sky Sports.
‘Last season, Arsenal came to the fore. But how come Liverpool can’t be that team again this season?
‘I don’t think Liverpool’s current group is good enough to compete with Manchester City.
But they need to go all in this week, bringing in another defender and a midfielder.
‘That has to happen because Liverpool may still be Manchester City’s main adversary. They’ve had a good season so far.’
While Liverpool earned a hard-fought three points at St James’ Park, Virgil van Dijk might be suspended for the following three games after being issued a red card for a foul on Alexander Isak.
He could be sidelined for a longer period of time after allegedly angrily abusing referee John Brooks after being given his marching orders.
Liverpool will need to be quick and astute with their business before the transfer market closes later this week, having previously missed out on Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia this summer.
Carragher previously described Liverpool’s transfer policy as “an absolute mess” after the Reds failed to sign both midfielders.
However, the veteran defender emphasized once more that the Reds need not hold back in the final week of the transfer window in order to upgrade their squad in order to rival Man City.
‘When you have someone like Alisson Becker, he’s a world-class goalkeeper, possibly the best in the world. ‘They have Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah,’ Carragher explained.
‘These aren’t players at the end of their careers, but they’re at the point where you’re thinking, “If Liverpool want to win something big again, it’s probably going to have to happen in the next year or two.”
‘So, really go for it in the final week of the transfer window market to have a group that you think is good enough to rival Manchester City in this league,’ says the coach.