Gary Neville warned Liverpool would have to back Jurgen Klopp more in the transfer market and the Reds swiftly responded with their attempt to land Moises Caicedo
Liverpool have smashed Gary Neville’s warning that Jurgen Klopp needs more support in the transfer market to match the record transfer fee for Moises Caicedo. The Red Devils have agreed a £110m fee with Brighton for the Ecuador international, although the midfielder could still end up at Premier League rivals Chelsea.
Liverpool’s midfield rebuilding has seen them bring in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai for close to £100m, with Fabinho and Jordan Henderson securing moves to the Saudi Pro League. James Milner’s earlier departure as a free agent only increased the need for Klopp to bring in a new defensive midfielder, with rising Southampton star Romeo Lavia also the subject of discussion.
Earlier in the transfer window, Liverpool had excluded themselves from the race for Jude Bellingham due to concerns over costs, with the England international choosing to join Real Madrid. However, after the perhaps unexpected deal of Fabinho and Henderson, the Red Devils decided they were ready to bet big on Caicedo.
Caicedo will become the third midfielder in a row to quickly move to the Premier League for more than £100m, after Enzo Fernandez and Declan Rice. Speaking ahead of Friday’s developments about the Brighton star, Neville warned Liverpool would soon face a reckoning when competing with the rest of the so-called ‘Big Six’.
Klopp’s ‘unlimited’ sweep at Newcastle fails as Liverpool close in on £110m move from Caicedo
The Sky Sports pundit told the fan debate on The Overlap:
“I think with Liverpool, and I said it, it happens at this point. Over the last two years, Chelsea have spent a lot, Arsenal have spent a lot, [Manchester] United have spent a lot, City is City, and it’s just, I think he caught them off guard.
“It surprised the owners, they didn’t have the money to compete. I think it shocked them in the market. Bellingham for £100m, Rice for £100m, Fernandez at £100m, Caicedo 100 million pounds.
“I think they’re at £50-60m and they’re comfortable there, but they’re at a ceiling that they hit at less than four or five other clubs. It’s going to come and strike. they are like a ton of bricks at some point.
“The manager is protecting them, there’s no doubt he’s done an incredible job, the best job I’ve come to trust in the last seven or eight years on the budget he had to put in. But he couldn’t help but keep doing it, he needed that money to compete.
“They should buy Caicedo now, and say that’s it, that’s all. But they’re not, they’re trying to get someone from Southampton for £40m, a good player, don’t get me wrong, but Jurgen Klopp needs the real deal.”
Liverpool’s potential move to Caicedo has highlighted some of Klopp’s previous comments, including his views on Manchester United’s deal to re-sign Paul Pogba in the summer of 2016. Newcastle, it once again enhances Klopp’s ‘not naked’ view. jibing as well as his insistence that the Reds have no ‘Exclusive’ money to spend.
Alexander Isak is the Magpies’ record purchase, with the Sweden international costing the club £63m last summer. Liverpool’s Caicedo ambitions show the money hole Eddie Howe’s side still face despite backing from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, with financial fair play laws limiting their ability to match with the spending of the club’s elite rivals.
