'He was out there' - Ian Wright insists Liverpool should have swooped for Josko Gvardiol as Reds' defence is 'not good enough'
Ian Wright has criticised Liverpool for not beating Manchester City to the signing of Josko Gvardiol because their defence is not good enough.
WHAT HAPPENED? Manchester City signed Gvardiol from RB Leipzig for £77.6 million ($97m) this summer, but Wright believes Liverpool should have signed the Croatian centre-back when they had the chance. Jurgen Klopp's side were keen on the 21-year-old but ultimately missed out.
WHAT THEY SAID: Wright told Premier League Productions (via the Mirror): "I feel that Liverpool should have got a real top-end defender — someone like Josko Gvardiol. He was out there. You should try to go in.
"If you are going to play with that inverted full-back [Trent Alexander-Arnold], then I am not sure Joe Gomez or Joel Matip is the guy. When you look at Liverpool down the years, they have brought in proper defenders. They paid for Virgil van Dijk and [Ibrahima] Konate. Andy Robertson. [Kostas] Tsimikas as well. Four players they have paid for, it’s not good enough for a club of that stature and what they are trying to do."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Liverpool entered the summer window with the aim of overhauling their midfield. Jordan Henderson and Fabinho completed moves to Saudi Pro League sides with Naby Keita also departing, while Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch all came in. No new defenders were added to Klopp's squad.
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WHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL? Liverpool have made a good start to the new season, winning three of their opening four matches. Across those games their defence has shipped three goals, one more than City. After the international break, Klopp's side will travel to Wolves on September 16.
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