John Aldridge returns ahead of the 2023/24 season to discuss Liverpool’s summer signings, the need for further business and Ben Doak’s promising future at Anfield in the first half of his weekly ECHO column.
I’ve worked for the Singapore club and from what I’ve seen, I think Dominik Szoboszlai is making his way at the moment, but Alexis Mac Allister has come in and settled in like a duck to water.
The quality of the teams we played against was not exactly the best, with the exception of Bayern Munich, but you can tell from Mac Allister that he played in the Premier League. He fits like a hand in a glove.
He’s played him in the back four, which isn’t his ideal position for him as we’re waiting for signings, but when he’s in that pocket he’s smart.
He plays well in the pockets and goes to the ball, so I think he’s going to be a very good signing.
Dominik is very confident and just waiting to see some more of him but it’s coming, I’m pretty sure because I’ve seen it before.
The Premier League is different from other leagues. So give him time to make a name for himself, but he has all the qualities he needs.
But we definitely need more signatures before the window closes. A defensive midfielder must be in the foreground.
We have the numbers but ideally a good midfielder would be nice and a right back to give Trent Alexander-Arnold permission to move.
Romeo Lavia seemed good to me, but I didn’t see him enough: he is very young. He is undoubtedly a prospect and time will tell.
Trust Jurgen Klopp, if we get him, he’ll do the job we need. If we don’t catch him, they’ll have to find someone else.
Stefan Bajcetic may be a great player but he’s still young and has had some injury issues. In time he could become a very important player, but we need someone else.
That being said, let’s not forget that we have a fantastic front six – Ben Doak is part of it now, even though he’s still young. He’s such an exciting candidate.
He’s got all the qualities you want, he’s got the heart, the guts and the pace – he inspires you so much – so this year, at the age of 17, he’s going to get some really good and valuable playing time in the League Europe. He is now Mohamed Salah’s replacement for me.
17 years old, he’s got it. We’ve seen this before with players like Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen. He is now a member of the team. The manager has so many options at the top.