John Aldridge has his say on what Liverpool need to do when the January transfer window opens in the second half of his weekly ECHO column
You need pace in your side to get the better of teams. Last year we had Luis Diaz. Pace gets you off your seat.
Think back to Liverpool at its best under Jurgen Klopp with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane on the wings. It’s not at that level now.
Jeremie Frimpong is the only one in our side with blistering pace. Going forward, he did really well against Wolves. We’ve not really seen him tested much defensively, certainly not at the weekend, but he’s come back after injury and set up a couple of goals. He’s starting to show us what he can offer.
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When you go to tricky away games while Salah is out, you can solidify the right-hand side by playing him in front of Conor Bradley or Joe Gomez.
He’ll overlap and beat his man down the line before getting in the ball in, like he did for Ryan Gravenberch’s goal. It’s effective, once he’s past you, you won’t catch him.
You won’t get a lot of goals, but he’ll cause a lot of problems for defenders. He’s dynamic. We lack that now.
Last year we had Diaz, Salah. Yes, he wasn’t as quick as he used to be under Jurgen but he was still a nightmare for defenders, though he has dipped a little this season.
Even Darwin Nunez – he was pacey but his finishing was awful. Hugo Ekitke is quick but he’s not blistering. Cody Gakpo is not blistering.
You need pace to stretch teams and Frimpong offers that. We have Arsenal away in a couple of weeks and it looks like Salah will still be at AFCON for that one.
Frimpong in front of Bradley or Gomez would be perfect for that. He will cause them problems but also offer a bit of defensive protection too.
He won’t be the long-term answer there. If Salah leaves, you’d want to sign a new right-winger. But he’s a great option to have in the squad.
Bring back Elliott – but we don’t need Semenyo
It’s a no-brainer with Harvey Elliott. He’s not playing at Aston Villa so bring him back. The crowd love him.
At his age, he’s more of an impact player. When he comes on, he does well. It’s a waste of a talent at Villa.
We need numbers. We need players who can change a game and he can change a game. It’s a no-brainer.
If Arne doesn’t fancy him, he doesn’t come into the equation. But personally I think it’s a no-brainer to get him back into the squad for what he would bring to us – especially when we need more numbers.
We have been linked with Antoine Semenyo, though it looks like he might be going to Man City now.
Should we try and hijack the deal? It all depends on Mo Salah. We don’t know what’s going on with Mo.
If he goes in January or at the end of the season, you have to try and beat Man City for the next best one. I think he’s really good.
Richard Hughes knows all about him and if Pep wants him, it shows how good he is too.
He would bring something different. He’s big, physical, strong, fast and can scores. He can play on both sides and has caused us damage in the past too.
But we also need a centre-half. Whether the owners would spend the money, we’ll have to wait and see. Marc Guehi is a must, if they can get him.
They’d recoup the money in January if Salah leaves. But if he stays, there might not be the same wiggle room to add to the squad. And they wouldn’t really need Semenyo either.
But at least then Harvey could be an option too, as he wouldn’t cost a transfer fee. He could come back in as a decent squad player and still play more than he has at Villa.
