Liverpool urged to make move to sign England midfielder | OneFootball

Why Elliott Anderson Should Be Liverpool’s Top Midfield Target This Summer

Liverpool’s narrow 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest reignited their Premier League push for Champions League qualification, but it also exposed familiar structural issues. On Media Matters for Anfield Index, David Lynch used the performance to highlight a broader recruitment debate, and his comments on Elliott Anderson felt particularly instructive ahead of the summer window.

While much of the external noise has centred on Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, Lynch’s assessment of Liverpool’s midfield needs, and his praise for Anderson’s display, point towards a different priority.

Anderson’s Physical Edge Exposes Liverpool Gap

Reflecting on the contest at the City Ground, Lynch noted how Forest’s midfield presence unsettled Liverpool. The name he kept returning to was Elliott Anderson.

He described the type of midfielder capable of delivering “an Elliott Anderson like game,” adding that this is something Liverpool are missing in key moments.

That phrase matters. Anderson’s influence in the first half was obvious. He drove through midfield, imposed himself physically and disrupted Liverpool’s rhythm. It was not subtle, and it was not decorative. It was Premier League intensity distilled into 45 minutes.

Lynch has repeatedly stressed the need for greater athleticism in Liverpool’s engine room. “Popping in another physical profile into that central midfield as an option there would be really really handy in certain games,” he said. Forest versus Liverpool was precisely that type of game.

Adam Wharton Doubts Raise Strategic Question

Liverpool have been strongly linked with Adam Wharton, but Lynch’s comments introduced caution.

“Liverpool clearly keen quite in a big way on Adam Wharton,” he acknowledged, yet followed with a warning: “I just worry he is not going to add what Liverpool fans want to see in that middle.”

Lynch was careful to praise Wharton’s technical ability. “I think he’s a fabulous footballer, you know, he’s so special on the ball,” he said. However, the concern lies elsewhere. “His off the ball work leaves a lot to be desired and he doesn’t cover a lot of ground.”

That is not a trivial criticism in the Premier League context. Lynch framed the issue through physical demands. “The physicality in the Premier League and the running ability that all the teams have got now… putting Mac Allister in there it’s going to be difficult for him.”

By extension, replacing one physically vulnerable profile with another risks repeating the same structural imbalance.

Photo: IMAGO

Premier League Demands Cannot Be Ignored

One of Lynch’s most revealing lines came when he discussed Anderson’s capacity to influence games in a direct way.

“He’s capable of doing that,” he said of Anderson’s all action display, contrasting it with Liverpool’s own struggles. The implication was clear. This is not about aesthetics, it is about coping with the league’s physical and tactical evolution.

Lynch was explicit about what Liverpool should address. “It is something Liverpool should address,” he said, referring to midfield physicality. “I personally would like to see that.”

That context sharpens the Anderson argument. If Liverpool need ground coverage, duel winning and the ability to impose themselves away from home, then the Forest midfielder represents a proven Premier League solution.

Wharton may offer control and composure. Anderson offers confrontation and resilience.

Recruitment Call for the Summer Window

Liverpool’s Champions League hopes remain alive, level on points with Manchester United and Chelsea, but the Forest performance underlined the thin margins. Defensive grit secured the clean sheet, Alexis Mac Allister supplied the decisive touch, yet the midfield imbalance lingered.

Lynch did not frame it as a direct Anderson versus Wharton debate, but his language was revealing. “I think it’s another string to the bow that they need to add,” he said of physical midfield qualities.

If recruitment is about solving specific problems rather than collecting talent, then Anderson fits the brief. The Premier League has shifted towards athleticism, pressing and transitions. Liverpool cannot ignore that trend.

As Lynch put it, the league’s physical demands are relentless. “The running ability that all the teams have got now,” he noted, is reshaping contests week after week.

Ahead of the summer window, Liverpool face a choice. Prioritise technical elegance, or address the imbalance that has surfaced too often this season. Based on David Lynch’s assessment, Elliott Anderson looks like the midfielder who answers the more urgent question.