Steve McManaman has claimed that Youri Tielemans and Douglas Luiz are not good enough to play for Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are reportedly looking to strengthen their midfield options either in January or at the end of the season with Jude Bellingham believed to be the Reds’ priority target.
Belgium international Tielemans has been linked with the Anfield outfit previously and he’s set to become a free agent at the end of the current campaign.
Luiz, the Brazil international and Aston Villa star, was also reportedly considered by Liverpool during the summer window but McManaman believes the two Premier League stars don’t have the ability to impress at his former club.
“Douglas Luiz and Youri Tielemans are both good Premier League players, but I don’t believe they’re good enough for Liverpool,” McManaman told Horseracing.net (via Leicester Mercury).
“I’m not convinced it will be a smart bit of business by Liverpool to move for Douglas Luiz, regardless of whether his contract is expiring or not.
“I think he’s a good player, but I believe he needs to be quicker in a lot of the things he does to suit the style of football that Liverpool play.
“You want to sign players that can get in Liverpool’s starting eleven and not just players who want to come and sit in a squad.
“Youri Tielemans’ contract is also set to expire at the same time, but if you’re to play for the best teams in Europe, it’s hard to find the right players that will improve your side.
“I don’t want to be disparaging towards either of these two players because they’re good Premier League players. Are they good enough to get in the starting line-up of one of the world’s best teams? I just don’t think so at the moment.”
Both players have quality and are vitally important to their respective sides but you do have to question whether they will strengthen our midfield options.
Arsenal reportedly had three offers rejected for Luiz late in the summer transfer window which indicates how highly Mikel Arteta rates the Brazilian.
VOTE for Empire of the Kop as Best Club Content Creator (Premier League) here: Football Content Awards OR on Twitter with the FCA’s one-click Twitter link with: I am voting for @Empireofthekop in @The_FCAs for #BestClubContentCreator (Premier League)
Tielemans, meanwhile, has shown his quality on numerous occasions for Leicester but has struggled alongside the rest of Brendan Rodgers’ squad this term.
You do wonder how the former AS Monaco midfielder would perform if he was to be a part of a top six squad and we may find out in the near future.
With his current contract expiring at the end of the season and it looking unlikely that he will extend his stay at the King Power Stadium, Leicester may be willing to let him go for a cut-price fee in January.
Klopp will be eager to add a number of new faces to his midfield in the upcoming transfer windows, we’ll just have to wait and see what signings we make!
More must-reads: