Why Liverpool do not need Fekir as a #10

With the incoming transfer market slamming shut it is now certain that for this summer at least we will not be seeing Nabil Fekir in a red shirt. I will say before I go into all the reasons why they do not need him that I would have loved to have had him at Anfield, I really would, but for whatever reason the deal died and did not get resuscitated and we are all going to have to come to terms with that now and move on, because there’s only so much moaning about it on Twitter the average person can take.

However, even though we might be upset about it, was he always a necessary signing? I personally do not think so! It has been thrown about on social media in the last few months that he would be a direct replacement for Philippe Coutinho.

From my point of view, I don’t think Liverpool were ever going to replace him, just sign an alternative. Once again, from my point of view, I think the money was re-invested back into the squad already with the signings of Keita, Fabinho and Alisson. I would have thought that the money for Van Dijk was totally irrelevant to any deal for the Brazilian magician. So, was there really enough money to go all out to get Fekir?

There probably was easily enough money and I get the impression now that if Klopp believes a player is a must sign then FSG would stump up the cash to get the player through the door. So, I don’t think him not signing was down to financial issues, I believe the doubt lies in whether Liverpool need him. He would certainly be playing in the midfield 3 rather than in the front 3 like some people have said, he is certainly that No.10 in behind the front line.

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Having shared some of these views on a longer PL Preview podcast which I was part of, I sat down and thought about that position - is it really an area that needs that extra signing? I do not think so! With the arrival of Keita and Shaqiri added to the assist machine that is James Milner I don’t think that the extra bit of creativity is needed in that midfield area, especially considering the fact that at some point in the future Oxlade-Chamberlain is going to be coming back, and yes it may take time for him to get back into it but in the Champions League run Liverpool had last season he was easily one of the most exciting players on the pitch and could have a massive impact when he returns to the fold.

Manchester United v Liverpool - International Champions Cup 2018

Also, that is without thinking about the other 2 forward minded midfielders the Reds have in Lallana and Wijnaldum, and not forgetting young Curtis Jones who has impressed a lot of people with his performances in pre-season.

Another point that I feel needs to be made, is that I believe Liverpool played better football last season when Coutinho made the move to the Catalan player thieves! I am unsure why or how this happened, but I believe it’s true. When I think of the games last season that they performed the best, the ones that come to mind are honestly ones after Coutinho had left.

Mainly the 2 wins against Manchester City in the league at Anfield and in the Champions League first leg also at Anfield. They seemed to use their pace even more because that was the best option than constantly going through Coutinho! So, in my opinion why fix something that isn’t broken? Liverpool have already added depth this summer, and they certainly weren’t struggling to score goals at the end of the season. So why on earth would they fork out such a massive amount of money for a player they arguably do not need, especially if the rumours about his medical were true, it seems like a big risk when it is not a necessary signing.

I’ve no doubt that a lot of people will disagree with me on this one judging by social media recently, so if anyone wants to debate about this I will happily engage on it and I hope that somebody can convince me to change my opinion.

As always, I am going to back Klopp tooth and nail! If he is happy then I am happy, because to be quite honest I really do believe that he is the man to get Liverpool some silverware this season! Fingers crossed!