Souness says Klopp can see Liverpool’s key weakness

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The former Liverpool boss believes the club falls slightly short of being title favourites.

Graeme Souness believes Liverpool fall just short of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table, as much as he does not like admitting it.

“Right now, they are a little bit behind Manchester City and it hurts me to say that,” he said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football. “But who is to say? Football is a strange game as we all know. Injuries can happen, loss of form, but right now, I see City as being the favourites.”

Speaking more specifically, Souness feels it is the midfield that holds Liverpool back and that manager Jurgen Klopp agrees.

“I think [the midfield being the weakness] is how Jurgen sees it, too,” Souness said. “He’s signed two midfield players this summer and he went for [Nabil] Fekir from Lyon, the third one, so that tells you he thinks that’s an area he needs to strengthen.

“They have got three real workaholics in there but I don’t think they have got anyone that is really cute and clever, like David Silva or a Kevin De Bruyne – but who is? That is a hard player to find.”

Liverpool certainly moved to bulk up their midfield options in the summer, with both Fabinho and Naby Keita arriving. There was also the highly publicised, and ultimately failed, pursuit of Fekir; a move that was surely pushed forward after the long-term injury to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

With Keita looking slow to adapt, we have seen Klopp use Xherdan Shaqiri in a deeper role, driving things from midfield; something that would suggest the Liverpool boss wants more creativity from the middle of the pitch.

Perhaps Keita will eventually fill that role, while there is also Adam Lallana, who finally looks ready to play with some regularity. Souness is right to highlight the issue now but, in a few months, it may not be quite the problem it seems right now.

It took the likes of Andy Robertson and Oxlade-Chamberlain a good few months to get up to speed last year, so Keita and Fabinho should be shown the same patience.