‘ It’s a huge deal’-Big cash out for Arsenal as Glen Johnson urges Liverpool to sign two Arsenal targets.
Glen Johnson believes it is imperative that Liverpool bolster Jurgen Klopp’s squad in January and says his former club should target two Arsenal targets.
Liverpool have made an uncharacteristically underwhelming start to the season, winning only two of their six Premier League games and suffering a 4-1 defeat to Napoli in their Champions League opener.
While Liverpool signed Darwin Nunez, Arthur Melo, Fabio Carvalho and Calvin Ramsey over the summer, they were far less productive than some of their domestic rivals, with both Chelsea and Manchester United spending more than £200m on new recruits.
Johnson believes Liverpool’s midfield remains an area of concern and says the Reds should express interest in signing Youri Tielemans and Douglas Luiz in the next transfer window.
Arsenal were strongly linked with Leicester City midfielder Tielemans over the summer, while they had multiple bids for Aston Villa star Luiz rejected on transfer deadline day.
Asked if Tielemans could emerge as a target for Liverpool as his Leicester contract runs down, Johnson told Bettingodds.com: ‘I’d definitely be looking to sign him.
‘If it’s safer to secure it now and pay a small fee then I’d do that. I wouldn’t run the risk of allowing anyone else to have him for free. I think he’s the sort of player that could fit into any team relatively straightforwardly.’
On Luiz, the former England defender added: ‘He’s another good player. Liverpool probably do need two or three players in the midfield and if you can snap these sorts of players up, that have Premier League experience, for relatively cheap or even better on a free, then it’s a no-brainer.
‘We know their squad is quite light and they’re starting XI is hindered quite a lot when they have a couple of injuries. I definitely think they need a few more bodies in there.’
Liverpool have pushed Manchester City close for the title in recent years – even lifting the trophy themselves in 2020 but Johnson is not optimistic for their title chances this season.
‘I’ll be very surprised if anyone can challenge Man City,’ he added. ‘Put it this way, I think whoever finishes in front of Manchester City this season, wins the league.
‘Tottenham are a hell of a lot better than they were last season but I don’t think they have the squad to take on Manchester City, but stranger things have happened.
‘I just think that Manchester City have the ability to win games when they’re playing at a six out of ten and not many other teams can do that.’
