Daniel Sturridge makes bold Trey Nyoni claim as Liverpool transfer demand made

Former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has outlined that the Reds should be looking in the market for a defensive midfielder - and fast.

Since Fabinho left three years ago, the Reds have been crying out for an out-and-out defensive midfielder.

While Ryan Gravenberch can play in that role, he has always been naturally more inclined to attack - and a pairing with Dominik Szoboszlai leaves Liverpool's back two very vulnerable.

As we saw (twice) against Newcastle, both of Liverpool's deeper midfielders had progressed forward which left Virgil van Dijk and Jeremy Jacquet exposed, leading to the Magpies scoring from their counter attacks.

Sturridge said after the game on Sky Sports:

"I think the team needs a defensive midfielder. We've been talking about a defensive midfielder at Liverpool for the last three years. Gravenberch coming into the team, playing consistently, and Liverpool winning the Premier League changed that philosophy."

And it's true - the Reds haven't truly replaced a profile of Fabinho for three years. The league triumph in 2024/25 papered over the cracks, but Liverpool needed a player of his calibre and style to win the league after 30 years.

Yet the club haven't found once since. Yes, the Reds won the league without Fabinho, but a generational season from Mohamed Salah would win most teams a league title.

Sturridge continued:

"If you analyse the midfield, they're all naturally more attacking players."

"Liverpool don't have that profile of player right now. Trey Nyoni, I really like him as a player, I think he's brilliant - but he's more of a ball playing 6 or 8. "

"He's not a destroyer or someone who will strike fear into the opposition like [Mamadou] Sangare can or like Kante over the years."

Trey Nyoni is a wonderful midfielder, and preseason showed that - but Liverpool's ex-number 15 is correct. The youngster isn't similar enough to Fabinho to allow the Reds to avoid dipping into the market.

Liverpool have been linked with a plethora of wingers over the summer, and squad restrictions mean that there will need to be outgoings before signings can be made.

The departure of Curtis Jones leaves the Reds light on midfield options now, even with Wataru Endo available, but he isn't the type of midfielder Andoni Iraola is looking for.

This is where Lamine Camara (could) come in.

The young midfielder played well against Le Havre today, making 67 passes, 19 recoveries and won 11 out of 15 ground duels.

He could be the type of midfielder the Reds have been looking for since 2023.

Unfortunately, football is not that simple.

Tactically, this could impact how the Reds play. If Liverpool continue in a 4-2-3-1 shape, having a sole deeper midfielder means he would have to cover a lot of ground.

But if Liverpool move back to a 4-3-3 with two number 8s instead of a 10, this could mean Wirtz is sacrificed for more midfield control which is not ideal. Or he plays off the left wing, but again, not ideal.

Iraola believes that, while dipping into the transfer market isn't out the question, the players still need to react better as a team to transitional situations during a game.

Whatever happens in the final week or so of the transfer window, it's clear the Reds will be a part of a number of transfer deals.

Liverpool's next game is at home to Nottingham Forest on the 29th of August at 12:30pm BST.

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