Mark Lawrenson says Liverpool’s willingness to accept offers for Lucas Leiva shows Brendan Rodgers believes the Reds do not need a defensive midfielder.
If reports in Italy are to be believes, the Brazil international’s agent Kia Joorabchianhas flown to Italy to negotiate the deal. Football Italia claims Inter Milan are looking for a loan move for the midfielder with a view to a permanent transfer next summer.
Liverpool saw their legend Steven Gerrard leave the club on a free transfer as the former England international joined LA Galaxy. He was replaced by his compatriot James Milner in the summer, who arrived from Manchester City as a free agent.
The England international and Jordan Henderson started in the Merseyside club’s 1-0 victory over Stoke City. The fixture saw the South American midfielder being left out of the squad, amid growing speculations surrounding his future.
Lawrenson is disappointed with Liverpool’s decision to let the player leave and has advised Rodgers not to let Lucas leave Anfield.
“The decision to welcome offers for Lucas Leiva says just as much about Liverpool’s future as it does that of the Brazilian,” he told the Liverpool ECHO.
“Brendan Rodgers clearly believes there is no need for a dedicated defensive midfielder in his squad any more. If Lucas leaves, I wouldn’t expect Rodgers to move for a replacement. It would seem a little pointless, really. Why not actively keep Lucas if that’s the case?
“To be honest, I’m a little surprised he is being allowed to depart given the volume of games we may face this season. Perhaps Rodgers believes that with Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Emre Can jostling for position, he has sufficient options. Then there is Joe Allen.
“Clearly, it’s more about what players can do with the ball rather than their destructive qualities.
” Lucas would appear to be the victim of a shift in the way the game is going at present. And, if you look at Liverpool last season, it wasn’t the defending that was the massive problem – it was the attacking. We didn’t score enough goals, and maybe Rodgers believes Lucas just doesn’t offer enough in an attacking sense.
“The question is: Has Can the discipline to do a job as a defensive midfielder? Well, he’s German for a start. But Henderson and Milner can also play there and they are intelligent enough footballers. Maybe it’s none of this, though,” Lawrenson stressed.
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