Speaking on ESPN, Liverpool legend Steve Nicol has been discussing the Reds’ summer rebuild and what he would do if he had £250m to spend at Anfield at the end of the season.
Nicol, unsurprisingly, said he would like to sign the likes of Jude Bellingham and Moises Caicedo for the Reds, and he also stated that he wouldn’t mind getting a defensive-minded right-back through the door.
However, Nicol struggled to come up with a name, stating that many of the defensive right-backs aren’t good enough going forward, namechecking Manchester United’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka as an example.
Wan-Bissaka not good enough
Nicol discussed the idea of signing Wan-Bissaka for Liverpool.
“What about a right-back that wants to defend?” Nicol was asked.
“That would be a smart move, but there aren’t many of them around these days, right-backs that can defend, I’m trying to think of one. Dalot, no, Wan-Bissaka no. If you’re talking one vs one defending then Wan-Bissaka is really good, he’s as good as anybody, but he has two left feet so you’re getting nothing going forwards,” Nicol said.
Improving
Say what you will about Wan-Bissaka’s attacking abilities, he seems to have really improved in that area over the past few months.
While he’s no Dani Alves, he’s shown a lot more willingness to get forward under Erik Ten Hag, and while he’s not been racking up the assists, he can contribute in the final third.
He would help Liverpool in the defensive third a lot more than Trent Alexander-Arnold has in recent months, but then again, that’s not saying much considering that the England international has been off the boil for quite some time now.
Nicol doesn’t want Wan-Bissaka at Liverpool, but perhaps the Reds could do with a defender like him.
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