Paul Robinson has advised Liverpool not to sign another injury-prone midfielder in the summer in N’Golo Kante
The Frenchman’s contract is set to expire in the summer, but the now-pundit feels that links (via Football 365) to the Reds are the result of ‘agency talk’.
“They already have one prone-to-injury midfielder in Naby Keita. You can’t take on a player like Kante because of his injury history. Yes, he’s a free agent, but he’ll expect a high salary,” the former England No.1 told Football Insider.
“I believe there’s a lot of agency discussion in this one. The athlete is nearing the end of his contract and is not playing consistently, therefore his agent will be putting out feelers.
“Chelsea is undergoing significant change. Many new players have entered the fray. Kante will most likely leave at the conclusion of the season, but I doubt if Liverpool should pursue him.
“He is nearing the end of his career and is dealing with injury issues. Liverpool does not need to sign a player of that caliber. It would only be a temporary solution.”
The Merseysiders are said to be interested in both Jude Bellingham and Wolves’ Matheus Nunes ahead of the summer transfer season.
There’s no doubt that the former Leicester City player – once dubbed as a ‘beast’ by old teammate Timo Werner (as related by the Metro) – would have been a fantastic addition to this Liverpool group in his prime.
However, at a time when we’re attempting to reduce the average age of the group and bring in more durable options for the long term, Kante isn’t the proper match for what this squad requires.
In terms of age, both Bellingham (19) and Nunes (24) suit the profile immediately, though we’d prefer someone in the 26-28 range in the holding midfield role – someone who can help preserve Stefan Bajcetic’s development at Anfield without completely blocking off his path into the first-team.
If we’ve learnt from our past failures, we’ll put our faith in players who can spend more time on the field than in the locker room.
With a busy summer ahead of us, we wouldn’t rule out a more suited free agent or a player on an expiring contract if a good fit became available.
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