Liverpool transfer failures are now especially painful after Joe Hart's 'brilliant' verdict - opinion
Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from Rousing the Kop or go back to LFC Live.
Liverpool and Manchester City are both in transitional seasons, yet only one looks like showing any signs of improvement.Pep Guardiola’s side thumped the Reds 4-0 in the FA Cup on Saturday, securing yet another spot in the semi-finals of the competition.Liverpool, meanwhile, are in crisis, and the current problems are made even worse when you consider that both Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo could easily have been at Anfield instead of the Etihad Stadium right now. Who was Liverpool’s worst player during the abysmal defeat against Man City?
Some PATHETIC displays 😡 Photo by Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images Liverpool must regret not signing Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo ahead of Manchester CitySpeaking live to TNT Sports as a pundit on April 4, Joe Hart was quick to praise City for their January transfer business and say how well both Guehi and Semenyo are settling in.He said: “It was such brilliant business for Manchester City in the [January] transfer window, they took two people who knew the Premier League and were doing well in the Premier League in Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi but he has been brilliant.“To step into a Manchester City team, he is their number one centre back now and that is excellent. Your team isn’t performing as well as it could be, so you go out and sign two Premier League-proven talents who still have huge potential.Well, not if you are Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards.
Instead, you don’t bring in any senior players over the winter, at which point Liverpool had already been on a run of nine defeats in 12, and instead you spend £60m on a player who won’t arrive until after 2025/26.Is Jeremy Jacquet a bad signing? But having to watch two of Liverpool’s previous transfer targets thrive at Man City while Slot’s side look abysmal is so painful.To make matters worse, Guehi only cost City £20m, less than half of what Jacquet will be joining for later this year.Yes, he will be on higher wages, but why on earth didn’t Liverpool do everything they could to get the England international to Anfield alongside Jacquet?Instead, it was reported at the time of Guehi’s move that ‘Liverpool didn’t view that overall package as a smart market opportunity‘.Well, two months on and City have secured one of the best centre-backs in England, who will probably only get better.Exactly why Liverpool missed out on Semenyo over the winter isn’t clear, but the failure to land him is equally frustrating, especially given the form of Mohamed Salah right now.Join Our NewsletterReceive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox