According to ex-Reds captain Phil Thompson, Jürgen Klopp should have sold two more Liverpool players before sacrificing striker Rhian Brewster.
Young attacker Brewster joined Sheffield United on a £ 23.5m deal that included both sell and buyback clauses as the Reds tried to balance the books during a summer marked by the coronavirus impact on their finances was.
Brewster, 20, was seen as an exciting option at Anfield. He had hoped to make progress at the club after scoring 11 goals in 22 games on loan at Swansea City last season.
His apparent inability to play in multiple positions up front seemed to speak against him, however, and the Reds opted for the more versatile Diogo Jota to increase their attack reserves.
Thompson believes they could have done otherwise, citing two of their Premier League and Champions League winners as potential outcomes instead of the younger Brewster.
(Image: Sportimage)
“With the expenses, I’m disappointed that they’ve decided to let Rhian Brewster go,” Thompson told Paddy Power.
“I want him to stay. I can see some of the reasons for this, but if you asked me if I should go with Brewster or Divock Origi, it would be Origi.
“But on the football side, I can see that he doesn’t play that many games. Maybe the first-team experience will bring him that.
“There aren’t too many strikers who have the aggression that Brewster has.
“There are a few others who could have left, Xherdan Shaqiri for example could have brought in a few pounds.
“Maybe the expenses weren’t going the way you’d like them to – but the income was really good.”
(Image: Pool via REUTERS)
It’s been a hectic season so far – so don’t miss a thing by signing up for the brilliant new Mirror Football newsletter!
The latest broadcast news and big stories land right in your inbox. You will not miss it.
To sign up, put your email address at the top of this article or follow the instructions at this link.
With that revenue, Thompson is particularly pleased that the Jota deal got him up close and personal as an expert on Sky Sports.
“We looked at someone in a more offensive position and I played a lot of Wolves games last year and I raved about Diogo Jota for months,” he continued.
“This guy could play for all the big clubs – no disrespect to the Wolves – and when Liverpool signed him I thought it was a bit like Sadio Mane.
“When he got around to that people were like, ‘Sadio Mane? Eh, playing for Southampton, is he good?’ and look at him now, a superstar, a world class player.
“And I think Diogo Jota can bring that back to the club. He’s a great commitment.”
Will Liverpool win the Premier League again? Share your thoughts in the comments below
Sign up for the Mirror Football newsletter here
.
