Stevie Nicol still expects Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool to contest the Premier League title next season, although he will lose veteran duo Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to Saudi Arabia, as well as bringing in three new faces.
The Anfield legend was asked what the “realistic expectations” are for Liverpool next season, whether they “replace the whole of midfield” and whether Jordan Henderson and Fabinho will leave.
Now, two players, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, have already entered, so one can imagine that another big name will join as the aforementioned duo complete a potential five-man transfer deal.
While Klopp’s midfield will undergo massive and perhaps unplanned changes as a result, the exceptions remain the same for Nicol, as he told ESPN.
As Manchester City are aiming for a fourth consecutive Premier League title, the last team to win the title outside of Treble winners have been Liverpool themselves, and have gone over 90 points on other occasions but been overwhelmed by the incredible power that Pep Guardiola has built upon. Could Anfield players return to this path ahead of next season? Nicol definitely thinks so.
“Fighting for the title,” Nicol said of Liverpool’s expectations for next season if they replace their entire midfield following the potential departures of Fabinho and Henderson.
“Easy and simple. If you sign three good players like that, then you add them to the forward line and you have to take into account that the defense won’t allow another 50 goals. Then you should compete.
Will Liverpool push for the Europa League?
The Reds reached three Champions League finals under Klopp and won one against Tottenham in Madrid.
But now that they are in the Europa League, it will be interesting to see how they balance this competition against the Premier League.
Many will say that the Premier League is far more important than the Europa League. In an emergency, will Klopp send his best players to the marathon because they can no longer afford to give up Champions League football?
Yes, winning the Europa League will get you there too, but the title shot should definitely be the main focus.
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