Liverpool 'keeping an eye' on Anthony Gordon and have major transfer spend planned

The sensational transfer saga that gripped fans this summer saw Anthony Gordon stay put at Newcastle United, despite Liverpool’s keen interest. Mark Lawrenson, the revered former Liverpool defender and one-time Newcastle coach, has weighed in on the matter, suggesting the Merseyside club could revisit their pursuit of Gordon next year.

Liverpool had reportedly agreed to a staggering £75million valuation for the winger, with Joe Gomez set to head to Newcastle in a £45m part-exchange before the deal fell through.

Lawrenson has highlighted how the potential transfer has inadvertently benefited Liverpool, as it spurred existing players Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo to up their game, fearing for their positions should Gordon have joined the squad under new manager Arne Slot.

“Gordon is without doubt a player Liverpool will keep an eye on,” Lawrenson remarked. “He’s got great ability, and has learned how to play football properly. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that whatsoever. He knows what’s expected of him and he’s lightning quick.

“He has done Arne Slot a bit of a favour this season because Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo have got their heads down and thought ‘crikey, if he turns up on the doorstep we might not be playing on a regular basis’.

“Slot won’t be bothered too much if somebody knocks on his door and asks why they aren’t playing. He’ll just say ‘we are winning almost every week and the lads in your position are scoring, so hang on’. It’s basically like the old days at present. You knew if you got injured, you might not be back regularly in the team for a long time as others had stepped up.”

Despite the collapse of the Gordon deal and the unsuccessful pursuit of Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi, Liverpool’s sole new face this season is Federico Chiesa from Juventus.

Next summer will see Valencia’s goalkeeper Giorigi Mamardashvili join the ranks, and pundit Lawrenson anticipates a flurry of activity to come, especially considering Liverpool could potentially lose Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah, all of whom are currently poised to depart on free transfers when the season concludes.

“I absolutely 100% feel as though this is a season where Slot is taking stock of the squad he has inherited, and next summer will be one where Liverpool make far more moves in the transfer window,” he asserts.

“Slot is in a great position where he has a really, really good squad already. He’ll want to tinker with it a bit this season, see what is possible and then recruit next summer and hope that things are even better.”

Lawrenson added: “I’m not surprised by how well Liverpool have been doing this season because we have outstanding players. You might think we maybe need an extra central midfielder player, but it’s a great job for the new manager to have.”

He went on to say, “I mean, what’s he had to do to change much? He’s basically said ‘same as last year, boys’. He’s tweaked little things which are good and it’s helped Liverpool start really well.”

Reflecting on past glories, Lawrenson credits the groundwork laid by Jurgen Klopp for paving the way for current triumphs, sharing insights from his own time at Liverpool under three different managers. Success under Bob Paisley continued seamlessly with Joe Fagan and then took a slight turn when Kenny Dalglish introduced a more modern approach.

Commenting further, Lawrenson added, “It didn’t feel any different,” while speaking on behalf of Sports Casting. “Well, maybe when Kenny took over it was slightly different as he brought us into the present century in a way rather than what it was before! “.

Detailing the differences, he explained, “It seems remarkable to say this, but we never used to work at set-pieces or free-kicks or anything like that. It would be a case of Joe saying ‘you lot work it out for yourselves, you’re all good players’. Kenny, though, did some different things, only small things like staying in a hotel before a game. That made a difference.

“That’s perhaps all that was needed at the time. There didn’t need to be a massive overhaul, just a few minor tweaks. And that’s what the current new boss is doing now.”