EFL chairman explains what could lose Liverpool the Premier League title
Liverpool are six points clear at the top of the Premier League and prepare to face Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg.
Liverpool’s lack of squad depth is their only concern when it comes to their Premier League title assault.
That is the verdict of Darragh MacAnthony, chairman of Peterborough United and a lifelong Reds fan. Arne Slot’s side opted against making any signing in the winter transfer window. In addition, they added only one fresh face last summer when recruiting Federico Chiesa from Juventus for £10 million.
Chiesa has largely been a peripheral figure at Anfield, having suffered from fitness issues while Mo Salah is ahead in the pecking order on the right-hand side of the attack. Salah has been in scintillating form, scoring 25 goals and recording 17 assists in just 33 appearances. Captain Virgil van Dijk, meanwhile, has been the bedrock of the team in defence.
Liverpool are six points clear at the summit of the Premier League table – but they are currently fighting on four fronts and head into tonight’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Tottenham Hotspur trailing 1-0 on aggregate.
But MacAnthony admitted he would be worried if either Salah or Van Dijk suffered an injury. Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: “That’s the concern, squad depth. Yes, they have got some very good players but if you lose a Salah – Salah went off the boil last season when he got injured when he was away and he ran out of steam.
“You wouldn’t want to lose him of Van Dijk. If you lost Trent [Alexander-Arnold] for a few weeks, you have got a Conor Bradley who can come in and fill in but if you lose a Virgil van Dijk with the amount of games coming up is troubling.”
Slot’s stance
Liverpool currently have no players except Trent Alexander-Arnold on the treatment table against Tottenham. That is a reason why it was not necessary for the Reds to dip into the transfer market, according to head coach Slot.
They would have made a signing had a chance they did not expect arose – as they did when agreeing to recruit Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia in the summer. The goalkeeper will join the Reds at the end of the season.
Slot said: “I’ve said it many times, we have a very good squad and if you look at the league table I think the players have shown that the trust we have in them was correct and – apart from Trent [Alexander-Arnold] now maybe for a few days – we don’t have many injuries, not long-term injuries, in moments that the window is open.
“So, we did have some injury problems with Alisson [Becker], with [Diogo] Jota and with some others. But at the moment I think – apart from Trent – they are all available again today, so there’s not a reason to add something to the team unless you have a chance in the market. That’s something we saw last time with the goalkeeper we brought in, [who] is not here but we did bring him in because we saw that as a chance in the market. But for now we are happy with the team we have.”
