Andoni Iraola has been told he missed a trick in the summer transfer window by not re-signing Jordan Henderson, while Jarell Quansah has proven a Liverpool chief wrong after leaving the club.
Iraola told he made mistake
Liverpool lost a considerable amount of leadership this past summer in Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson. The hole the legendary duo left should have been filled by former captain Jordan Henderson, according to Reds icon Phil Thompson.
Henderson, 36, left Brentford for Chelsea prior to the new season with Blues boss Xabi Alonso recruiting the England international and Danny Welbeck to add a wealth of experience to his young squad.
It's a gap in the Reds squad that Thompson believes Iraola missed a trick in not replacing. He said: "I’m one of those, I’d have liked Andy Robertson to have stayed for another 12 months to sort of push Kerkez, but it’s his impact that was in the dressing room."
"I’d have had Jordan Henderson back last summer and you go, ‘Jordan Henderson?’ You all seen what he’s done now. He was taken with England. He was taken to Chelsea by Alonso for a reason. You see what I’m trying to say in terms of values at football clubs, we’ve lost a lot of characters."
Quansah proved chief wrong
Jarell Quansah's career has only soared since leaving Liverpool for Bayer Leverkusen in a £35million deal last summer. Not only has the 23-year-old become a key player for the German side, but he's risen to be one of Thomas Tuchel's most trusted operators for England.
The defender's stellar growth in recent years is something Liverpool's academy director, Alex Inglethorpe, didn't believe could happen. The 54-year-old told the BBC: "I’ve been proven wrong so many times in the past."
"A good example would be Jarell [Quansah] – someone who was always liked and never in danger of leaving but probably never seen in the top three in the group." He did admit Quansah's superb development may not have occurred if he had stayed at Liverpool in a bit-part role under Arne Slot.
He added: "There are no certainties – the point of the academy is to allow them to fulfil their potential. Sometimes players need to leave to gain an opportunity. There are lots of lovely examples of boys leaving and having good careers, and I’m not convinced they would have had the same career if they stayed at Liverpool."
"The linear and most productive way is to break in, but there’s different pathways that can lead back to playing for Liverpool – and that is the dream." A return to Anfield is possible as the Reds included a buyback deal in their sale of Quansah. The clause, reportedly worth €70m (£59m), expires on June 15, 2027, and it remains to be seen what Liverpool's decision will be.
