Sturridge Urges Liverpool to Sign Defensive Midfielder Quickly
Daniel Sturridge has thrown down a clear warning to Liverpool’s hierarchy: sign a defensive midfielder, and do it fast.
Liverpool’s start to their Premier League title defence has been anything but convincing. They needed a 99th-minute penalty from Dominik Szoboszlai just to scrape a 2-2 draw at Newcastle on Sunday, a result that papered over cracks everyone can see.
The way Newcastle sliced through the middle of the pitch reignited an old argument. Jamie Carragher raged about the “madness” of ignoring the same midfield problems that haunted Liverpool last season. Under Andoni Iraola they were easy to play through; under Arne Slot, the pattern is alarmingly familiar.
Sturridge’s blunt message
On Sky Sports at St James’ Park, Sturridge didn’t dance around the issue. He went straight for the heart of it.
“I think the team needs a defensive midfielder, personally,” the former Liverpool striker said. “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 sort of changed that philosophy, but if you actually analyse the midfield, they’re all naturally more attacking players.”
That’s the crux. Slot’s double pivot of Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister delivered a title, but neither is a classic number 6 whose first instinct is to destroy, disrupt and then build.
Sturridge had spent part of the weekend praising Mamadou Sangare’s display for Brentford against Tottenham, a performance full of bite and presence. That, he argued, is exactly the profile Liverpool are missing.
“Liverpool don’t have that profile of player right now,” he said. “I really like Trey Nyoni as a player. He’s brilliant, but he’s more of a ball-playing 6 or 8.
“He’s not a destroyer. He’s not someone who’s gonna strike fear into the opposition like Sangare can, or like N’Golo Kante over the years.”
A glaring gap, and a ticking clock
Inside Anfield, few will be surprised by that assessment. Outside it, you’d struggle to find many supporters who disagree, especially after what they watched on Tyneside.
Gravenberch and Mac Allister can dictate tempo, pass through pressure and join attacks. What they don’t naturally do is patrol the space in front of the back four with that single-minded obsession for duels, interceptions and second balls that defines an out-and-out holding midfielder.
Adam Wharton fits that mould. The problem? He belongs to Crystal Palace, and prising their standout midfielder away with just days left in the window would demand a huge fee and a huge effort from Liverpool’s new sporting director Richard Hughes. Right now, it feels like a long shot rather than a live opportunity.
Nyoni is another name repeatedly mentioned inside the club. At 19, he has the touch, the vision and the composure to grow into a central role. But asking him to become Liverpool’s defensive anchor immediately, to cover for years of recruitment missteps, would be a brutal burden for a teenager still learning the senior game.
This is the dilemma. The need is obvious. The options are limited. The clock is unforgiving.
Liverpool have just a few days left before the market shuts for the autumn. Sturridge has said what many are thinking. The question now is whether the club’s hierarchy are prepared to act — and whether a true destroyer can still be found in time to protect a title defence already showing signs of strain.
