Lewis Steele: Liverpool exit is more ‘advanced’ than fans think | OneFootball

Liverpool Midfield Debate Deepens as Curtis Jones Exit Looms

Liverpool’s summer planning was picked apart on Anfield Index’s Media Matters podcast, as Dave Davis and Lewis Steele discussed whether Arne Slot’s squad needs strengthening in midfield.

The conversation came amid wider uncertainty around Liverpool, with Ibrahima Konate set to leave, attacking reinforcements needed and questions across the squad. Davis framed the midfield issue directly, saying there was “a good line” from Steele that “a true holding midfielder or a DM is as important as a Mo Salah replacement.”

That point captured the scale of the debate. Liverpool need forwards, but the midfield remains a major talking point after a season where Steele felt they were too easy to play through.

Lewis Steele questions Liverpool’s midfield links

Steele was careful not to claim that a midfield signing was guaranteed. “The names are few and far between for these midfielders, aren’t they?” he said. “Which makes me just wonder whether they are going to sign one.”

He clarified that when he had written about midfielders, it had largely been from the perspective of what Liverpool should do, rather than what he had been told they definitely would do.

“I think whenever I’ve written about the midfielders, it’s been more from a place of I think they should sign one. Not necessarily I’ve heard that they will sign one.”

That was an important distinction. Liverpool’s midfield need may be clear in analysis, but Steele suggested the market noise around specific targets had not yet become strong.

Curtis Jones uncertainty adds pressure

One reason the issue may become more urgent is Curtis Jones. Steele said, “I think that they will because Curtis Jones is likely to leave as it stands today.”

Later in the podcast, Davis returned to Jones and said it sounded like “there’s negotiations” and that “this one could move quite quickly.” Steele said people he speaks to in Italy had suggested the situation was “a bit more advanced than we think over here.”

He added that they believed “they’ve already spoken with Jones’s entourage and talking money.” However, the issue was the club to club side, with Steele saying Liverpool wanted “35 mil” while Inter wanted “closer to 20”, which he thought was in euros.

His conclusion was stark. “I struggle to see a scenario where Curtis stays at Liverpool as we sit here on the end of May.”

Photo: IMAGO

Defensive midfielder remains a clear need

Steele’s strongest footballing argument came around Liverpool’s lack of a defensive midfielder. “There’s not many midfielders actually out there where you think that they can definitely improve Liverpool,” he said.

Even so, he pointed to what top sides usually possess. “You look at all the teams that win the Premier League have a quality defensive midfielder,” he said, referencing the kind of impact Fabinho once made.

For Steele, the problem in Arne Slot’s side was clear. “Liverpool don’t have that and they get played through too easy.”

That line was central to the midfield discussion. It was not only about numbers, or whether Jones leaves, but about balance, protection and control. Steele said, “I think that needs to be a priority for me.”

The difficulty is that Liverpool have other urgent needs. Steele immediately added, “But now all of a sudden you’re like, well, maybe the new defender needs to be a priority.”

Davis also raised Adam Wharton, asking about a possible sequence involving “Ederson to Man United, Elliot Anderson to Man City City, Adam Wharton to Liverpool.” Steele said the first two seemed “pretty much nailed on” from what he had heard, but on Wharton, “we’ve not really heard anything to suggest it’s actually a goer.”

He added that it “just seems to be the one that makes most sense.”