Gareth Roberts form the Anfield Wrap dropped into Tuesday's OTB AM to look at Liverpool's talent depth chart.
Roberts looked through the team position-by-position.
Forwards
There were few surprises in how he assessed the forwards with Salah, Mané and Firmino, the top three and then Origi and Shaqiri next.
“The obvious one is Divock Origi," says Roberts, "but he has split opinion more than ever after last season. It was not his best season by his own omission, but I could still trust him to come on and do a job.
“Beyond him, you’re probably thinking Shaqiri but the front three play so often together that it doesn’t matter too much who the others are.”
Roberts believes that 20-year-old Rhian Brewster impressed on his loan at Swansea and his talent could prove hugely important throughout the season.
“He’s been good on loan and Swansea want to keep him. You have to think about the money Liverpool could get for him and if that would facilitate another deal.”
Gareth Roberts final selection.
1. Mohamed Salah
2. Sadio Mané
3. Roberto Firmino
4. Divock Origi
5. Xherdan Shaquiri
6. Rhian Brewster
Midfielders
The club captain got the number one position in the middle of the pitch. With the rumours of Thiago Alcántara joining the Reds, the future of Liverpool’s starting midfielder's is a little up in the air.
“Henderson is in, he’s the captain. Wijnaldum is there and Fabinho who is one of my favourite players.”
Roberts said his only other quality option at midfield is 25-year-old Guinean midfielder Naby Keita who joined the club in 2018 from RB Leipzig.
“I’ve seen flashes of brilliance from Naby Keita this season who has settled and now seems to enjoy himself at the club.
“I’ve got high hopes for him. He’s the type of player that can unlock the defence.
“He’s very high up to getting a start on the team but he’s not knocking any of the other midfielders off yet.
Gareth Roberts final selection at midfield.
1. Jordan Henderson
2. Georginio Wijnaldum
3. Fabinho
4. Naby Keita
5. James Milner
Centre-Half
"I think the defence can almost pick itself like the forwards and midfield," says Roberts. "It’s Van Dijk and Gomez."
However, Roberts is not averse to an addition to the defensive ranks.
“In terms of depth at centre-half, I would get one more experienced player in who wouldn’t mind being on the bench and coming on.
“We’ll be looking at However, Van den Berg, who are good young lads, but you don’t want to be going into any big fixtures with teenage lads at centre-half.
“You could move Fabinho into centre-half if we got Thiago, then it can work out well.
Gareth Roberts final selection.
1. Virgil Van Dijk
2. Joe Gomez
3. Joel Matip
Full-Backs
For the two full-back positions, it’s hard to see past two of the best defenders in the Premier League at the minute in Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson.
With the recruitment of Tsimkas on the left and the experience gained by Neco Williams on the right, Liverpool’s full-back locker looks stacked.
“Full backs are very straight forward especially now that we recruited Tsimkas who can stand in for Robertson.
“On the right side you will have Trent Alexander-Arnold who will probably play 99% of league games. Under him you would have Neco Williams who to me looked very confident when he played.
Gareth Roberts fullback selection.
1. Andy Robertson
2. Trent Alexander-Arnold
3. Tsimikas
4. Neco Williams
Liverpool Goalkeeper
Adrian’s goalkeeping has been a subject of criticism this season after standing in for Alisson when Liverpool were knocked out of the Champions League to Atlético Madrid.
However, Roberts felt that he deserves credit stepping up to the mark.
“I thought people were harsh on Adrian last season where he made one or two mistakes but what are you expecting from a backup goalkeeper.
“He’s been thrown into the deep end from day one and I feel he’s done a good job.”
Gareth Roberts final selection.
1. Alisson Becker
2. Adrian
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