Former Liverpool goalkeeper David James fears that Fulham’s Tosin Adarabioyo and Bournemouth’s Lloyd Kelly would ‘struggle’ if they were to join the Premier League leaders in the summer transfer window.
They say the grass is not always greener elsewhere. And while the Anfield turf may look rather luscious from afar, two of the division’s most underrated central defenders could find their time on the grass rather limited on the red side of Stanley Park, restricted instead to a watching brief from the dugout.
That is the view of David James, the former England glovesman who spent seven years at Liverpool in the 1990s.
HITC Football understands that Liverpool, as well as Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United, have indicated that they are preparing offers for Bournemouth stopper Lloyd Kelly. He, like Tosin, is due to become a free-agent in the summer.
But while both players would be potentially excellent additions to the Reds roster, James wonders if either Kelly or Tosin would really benefit from a ‘squad player’ role reminiscent of the one, say, Kalvin Phillips found himself filling at Manchester City.
Liverpool like Lloyd Kelly and Tosin Adarabioyo
“Bournemouth had a very good run earlier on in the season and, because they were doing so well, you would have thought that some of their players could do well in a top team,” James tells GG Recon.
“However, I think the issue regarding Tosin Adarabioyo and Lloyd Kelly potentially coming in, is who are they going to replace in Liverpool’s team?
“When it comes to getting game time at Liverpool, then I think that Tosin could get more time out of the pair of them because he’s got plenty of experience. But, realistically, I think both of them would struggle.”
Virgil van Dijk may be the wrong side of 30 these days but the Dutchman remains an imperious presence at the back. Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konate, meanwhile, have been much improved in recent months, and youngster Jarell Quansah has enjoyed an excellent breakthrough campaign.
“I believe they would struggle for weekly appearances because of the strength that Liverpool have in their centre-back department,” James adds. “You have Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and then you have players like Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah who could come in and fill the void when needed.
No wonder Sepp van den Berg, on loan at Mainz, is thinking about cutting his ties with the Premier League leaders.
Reds boast serious defensive quality
“I’m not saying that either Tosin and Lloyd can’t eventually be good enough. But I believe the difficulty for them will be that they will struggle to get the opportunities to prove that they can be good enough. That’s the issue.”
Kelly, who was the subject of a £20 million bid from Spurs on deadline day last summer, may find regular game-time hard to come by at either Tottenham or Newcastle too. The left-footed centre-half would be in direct competition for a starting spot with Micky van de Ven or Sven Botman, after all.
HITC, meanwhile, have been told that Liverpool are prioritising a left-footer, like Kelly, over a right-footer a la Tosin. David Hancko, Piero Hincapie and Chelsea’s Levi Colwill are all options.
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