“I Don’t…’ Barnes Questions Whether Liverpool Should Enter 96M Transfer Tussle With Other Premier League Clubs

“I Don’t…’ Barnes Questions Whether Liverpool Should Enter 96M Transfer Tussle With Other Premier League Clubs

Liverpool legend John Barnes doesn’t believe that his former club should make signing RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol a priority this summer.

The Reds have been linked with the Croatian international, along with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United, but Barnes thinks manager Jurgen Klopp already has plenty of centre-halves at his disposal:

“Josko Gvardiol was very good at the World Cup but I don’t necessarily think that we need him right now. We have Joe Gomez, Ibrahima Konate, Joel Matip, Virgil van Dijk and they are very good players. So, it’s not at the centre-back position that we need new players.”

“He (Gvardiol) would be a very good addition. He has a lot of qualities and he is strong. He is a fantastic player who is very agile and mobile. I think he would be able to do a good job for Liverpool. But again, we can’t rely on individual quality. “Even if we bring new players in, the team has to make them look good and not the other way around.”

It should be pointed out that Liverpool have been pretty poor defensively this season, with neither Joe Gomez nor Joel Matip having looked particularly impressive when given starting opportunities.

Matip has even been mentioned as one of the players who could potentially leave Anfield at the end of the season, so the club’s interest in Gvardiol is not that surprising,

However, with the 21-year-old said to be worth €110m (£96m), there is a strong argument that the money could be better spent elsewhere. Strengthening the midfield is likely to be the priority so devoting sizeable funds to recruit a centre-back would not make a lot of sense.