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Former Liverpool midfielder John Barnes has admitted that he would have been delighted to see the Reds have signed Yves Bissouma, who joined Tottenham Hotspur earlier this summer.
Tottenham bought Bissouma from Brighton and Hove Albion for an initial fee worth £25million with an additional £10m in bonuses (Sky Sports) amid rumoured interest from the likes of Arsenal, Aston Villa and Everton.
The Reds have several options in midfield with the likes Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcantara, Fabinho, Naby Keita, Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain and James Milner. However, some of them are on the wrong side of their thirties, while others have struggled with injuries, which calls in our opinion for the need to reinforce the personnel in the middle of the park.
Barnes expressed that the Merseysiders should have targeted Bissouma to bolster their midfield options. However, they do have some young talents coming up like Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliot and the new £5million signing from Fulham, Fabio Carvalho (The Guardian), who can play as an attacking midfielder.
Speaking to Liverpool Echo, Barnes said: “I would have loved to have seen us go for Yves Bissouma from Brighton, I have to say, I think he is a really, really good player and Tottenham have themselves a good signing but with the players we already have I don’t think they need too much.”
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Antonio Conte is now provided with a good set of options in midfield, with the likes of Bissouma, Oliver Skipp, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg forming the quartet. Youngsters like Pape Matar Sarr also add to the available choices, having impressed in the pre-season so far.
Tottenham’s midfield is now capable of going up against Klopp’s team after Bissouma’s addition. After all, the Malian has been one of the best in his position in the Premier League in recent years. His addition has significantly raised the quality of the midfield options, which, in turn, would lead to healthy competition for starting spots.
The 25-year-old was in the final year of his contract at Brighton when Spurs prised him away from them. The transfer fee can be considered a bargain in this inflated market for a top-notch option like Bissouma. Let’s see whether the north Londoners have made a great piece of business or not, considering how the gap to Liverpool could be closed by this deal.
