We round up the latest Liverpool news and transfer rumours on Tuesday, on the eve of the Reds’ Champions League meeting with Red Star Belgrade.
Main Headlines
- Liverpool face midfield issues, with Henderson & Keita ruled out
- Watch Klopp’s press conference ahead of Liverpool vs. Red Star
- Keita’s six-month Scouse target hints at slow-burning success at Liverpool
- “That was a monster mistake” – Souness’ revealing take on failure as Reds manager
- Kent & Gerrard’s European push headlines Liverpool’s midweek loan action
- Should Fabinho start vs. Red Star? – Liverpool fans on Brazilian’s next step
- The emergence & the transformation of Wijnaldum
Trent On Captaincy Aims
Trent Alexander-Arnold has never hid the fact that he’s a boyhood Red and that he one day wants to captain the club.
Speaking in a pre-match press conference at Anfield on Tuesday, he was asked about his ambition for the armband, saying: “Obviously it’s something I’ve always dreamed of and it’s an aim and goal of mine to obviously become it (captain).
“There’s still a lot of hard work to go, it’s about being patient and keep working hard and hopefully one day that opportunity might come.”
The 20-year-old is expected to come back into the side on Wednesday night, having sat out the last two games.
Hopefully one day we do see the local lad wearing armband, but either way it’s great to see his positive and demanding attitude.
Wijnaldum Wants To Do “Something Special”
Gini Wijnaldum is arguably in the best form of his Liverpool career, producing a string of solid performances in the Reds’ midfield.
The Dutchman has his eyes set on going one better than last season’s Champions League runners up and winning silverware, saying he wants to leave a legacy behind at Anfield:
“I hope to stay here for a long time and help to make the history of this club even bigger.
“We’ve qualified for the Champions League two seasons in a row and reached a major final but we want more. Everyone talks about winning something and we have to make sure we take that next step. I hope we can do it. We have the confidence that we can do it.
“You want to be able to look back and feel you were part of Liverpool’s great history – win something here and they will always remember you.
“I want to be remembered as a Liverpool player who was part of something special.”
Wijnaldum is expected to return to the Liverpool team for Wednesday’s clash with Red Star, having started on the bench against Huddersfield Town at the weekend, before impressing in the second-half.
Grujic Sees His Future At Liverpool
Marko Grujic is recovering from an ankle ligament injury picked up for Hertha Berlin last month, as he looks to kick on at his temporary club.
Although his current focus is on impressing in the Bundesliga, the young Serb has told the Liverpool Echo‘s James Pearce that he still believes he can make it with the Reds:
“When I’ve been in the changing room after games, I’ve received messages from the manager and the medical staff. It’s a good sign that they care and are thinking about me.
“I had a plan to one day play for Liverpool and that’s still the case. It’s not easy of course because Liverpool are one of the biggest clubs in the world.
“But everyone has their own different way. I think at my age playing in the Bundesliga this season can help me to reach that goal – that one day I can play regularly for Liverpool.”
Grujic has his work cut out in terms of becoming a regular fixture at Anfield one day, considering the midfield depth at Jurgen Klopp‘s disposal.
He is a footballer with plenty of ability, however, and it is refreshing to hear such a confident approach from him.
Souness Admits His Mistakes As Manager
Graeme Souness’ spell as Liverpool manager in the early 1990s did not go to plan, coinciding with the Reds slipping from the summit of English football.
In a fascinating conversation on Sky Sports‘ Monday Night Football, Souness opened up about where things went wrong in the Anfield hot-seat, in terms of changing things at the club:
“I was offered the Liverpool job twice and said no twice, and then ultimately said yes. I thought I would go in there and change it.
“I was saying ‘this is what we are going to do and this is what we will do after the game’. At Rangers they bought into it because they were young boys, so then when I go to Liverpool and say I don’t want to see fish and chips after the game and I don’t want to see lager under the seats on the bus for the way back, the response you would get would be ‘we have always done that’.
“It was very hard for me to argue that because I had been part of that culture. I made many mistakes and my biggest crime was trying to make the changes too quickly.”
Lewtas On Replicating Liverpool’s First Team
Liverpool’s U19s will be in UEFA Youth League action on Wednesday afternoon, hosting Red Star at St. Helens’ brilliantly-named Totally Wicked Stadium.
Speaking to Liverpoolfc.com, manager Barry Lewtas spoke about how the aim is to copy Klopp’s first-team methods in order to thrive:
“We are trying to replicate what our first team do.
“The boys are working hard in terms of their attitude, what is required physically and also the work they are putting in on the training ground.
“We are definitely seeing the benefits of it in the league campaign for the U18s so far and the two European games.”
Kick-off on Wednesday is at 3pm (BST), as the young Reds look to bounce back from their bizarre and unjust last-gasp defeat away to Napoli on Matchday 2.
Key Man Ruled Out For Red Star
Marko Marin is arguably Red Star’s only player with any kind of pedigree, having won 16 caps for Germany and enjoying a short spell at Chelsea in 2012/13.
The 29-year-old was expected to be an important figure at Anfield this week, but he has been ruled out through injury.
Marin has failed to recover from the problem picked up in the weekend win over Rad in the Serbian SuperLiga, which is a massive blow for manager Vladan Milojevic.
Referee Confirmed For Cardiff Visit
Liverpool welcome struggling Cardiff City to Merseyside on Saturday afternoon, in a game Klopp’s men should walk away from with all three points.
It has been confirmed that Stuart Attwell will take charge of the weekend clash – will he be the man to award the Reds a first home Premier League penalty since November 2016?
Attwell refereed two of Liverpool’s league games last season – the 4-1 win over West Ham and the 2-2 draw at West Brom – as well as the League Cup third round defeat at the hands of Leicester City.
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