Dean Saunders: Liverpool will have no complacency next season

Former Liverpool forward Dean Saunders has told NewBettingSites.uk that he thinks Liverpool’s spending this summer has been clever, building a strong squad of players who can challenge for titles again next season.

Speaking to NewBettingSites.uk, Saunders said: “Liverpool barely spent any money last summer window so that’s why they’ve been able to spend almost £300 million this summer. They’re probably making sure that there’s no complacency next season and they’re looking like they’ve got two first teams they can put out at the moment.

“With the arrivals of Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, they’ve got players who can keep the ball and get them out of trouble should they come up against a team like Paris Saint-Germain again who pressed them like no tomorrow.

“Wirtz is that player who can wriggle out of those tough situations, like Thiago used to do so well in the midfield. The more players you have like that, the more you become like the Barcelona team with Lionel Messi, Xavi, Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta – you couldn’t get near them. All their new signings are technically very good.

“I don’t know if Frimpong is as good as Trent Alexander-Arnold, but he’ll offer things that Trent couldn’t. He’s quicker and will be able to handle more defensively than Trent could but won’t offer that same vision and passing.

“Wirtz is the link between the defence and the midfield and you can’t get the ball off him, if you try and get the ball off him and rush him too quickly, he’ll beat you. He’s got players like Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis MacAllister and Ryan Gravenberch behind him who are all top class, too.”

Liverpool wasted no time in signing Ekitike

Saunders discussed how he enjoyed how Liverpool moved so quickly having been denied Alexander Isak and went all guns blazing to pick up Newcastle’s prime target Hugo Ekitike.

He added: “The whole Liverpool and Newcastle soap opera around Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike was brilliant! Liverpool don’t mess about, it’s just the way they do business. They’ve decided a price on what they wanted for Isak and they left it out there for the player to then cause a bit of trouble – there are always plenty of things said behind closed doors.

“Isak’s agent would have asked him if he wanted to leave Newcastle and go to Liverpool, and then he would have gone to the CEO of the club to ask if they’re prepared to sell him and that Liverpool have come knocking. Liverpool would have contacted the agent prior through a third party and then it just depends on whether Newcastle will sell him and the player wants to go.

“The reason why the Hugo Ekitike deal has been done so quickly is either Newcastle have told Liverpool that they’re not willing to sell for any sum of money, or Isak himself has said no. Liverpool would have then not wanted to waste any time and cracked on full steam ahead for Ekitike.”

I hope Darwin Núñez stays at Liverpool

There has been plenty of speculation around Darwin Núñez’s future at Liverpool, but given his resurgence in form after four goals in his last two games with a recent hat-trick against Stoke, Saunders hopes he will stay.

He said: “I’m secretly hoping Darwin Núñez will benefit from Florian Wirtz’s arrival, as Wirtz will create more chances for him. I was under the impression last season that Liverpool wouldn’t be able to win the league if Núñez didn’t score 20-plus goals, I thought that’d be the deciding factor.

“He has a real knack of scoring important goals off the bench in the final minutes, so even just to have him on the bench gives you an edge. When he comes on, he chases down the keeper and forces the defenders into making mistakes and panic – he doesn’t just drop into the centre circle and shadowbox like the rest of them do.

“He amps up the team, too, when they see him doing that. He makes players make mistakes so that his team can pick up the ball and go on the attack. It’s a pity he doesn’t convert all of the chances he gets, and that affected him towards the end of last season as he lost belief in himself and that showed on the pitch. He didn’t want to put himself in the position where he’d have a chance at goal that he could miss.

“Getting his hat-trick against Stoke in preseason will have done him a world of good and I hope he stays at the club.”