Micah Richards can’t believe Liverpool didn’t sign £30m midfielder as Jordan Henderson’s replacement
Liverpool had a big decision to make when choosing to replace captain Jordan Henderson this summer.
At 33, Henderson was going to have to be replaced sooner or later. But having pushed for a move to Al Ettifaq, that happened far quicker than anyone anticipated. In the event, his successor had already been chosen, with Dominik Szoboszlai brought in ahead of the skipper’s departure.
So far, Szoboszlai has proven to be a hit. The legendary John Barnes is the latest to give the Hungarian his stamp of approval. But speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, pundit Micah Richards has questioned why Liverpool didn’t go for now West Ham star James Ward-Prowse instead.
“He is one of the signings of the season as well, Ward-Prowse,” co-host Alan Shearer raved. “What did they pay for him, £30 million? What a bargain! What a season he’s having. The assists. We did a piece on Match of the Day about him and those set pieces and where he puts the ball time after time, week after week, it’s just phenomenal what a dead ball player he is.”
Playing devil’s advocate, Gary Lineker questioned whether any of the Premier League’s ‘so called bigger clubs’ would regret not picking the 29-year-old up from Southampton.
“100%,” replied Richards. “Liverpool should have bought him. He was destined for Liverpool. Replace Henderson, he does exactly what Henderson can do and he has delivery as well. I’m thinking why has that not happened?”
Liverpool questioned on Ward-Prowse
In all seriousness, there’s no way Liverpool should have been in for Ward-Prowse this summer.
As they have been for a number of years now, the Reds were linked with a potential swoop for the England midfielder. But with respect to him and what he’s doing at West Ham, Ward-Prowse is a step below Liverpool’s level.
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Given how well he’s started the season, that might sound like a ridiculous thing to say. However, at 29 this is as good as Ward-Prowse is ever going to be.
He’s effective at what he does, but there’s a reason West Ham haven’t markedly improved since bringing him in.
The fact that the Hammers are no better off is not all down to Ward-Prowse of course, just as Liverpool’s improvement isn’t all down to Szoboszlai. But the Reds needed a transformative figure to come in and play the role Henderson was.
Szoboszlai is a superstar in the making. Ward-Prowse is a solid Premier League player with an exceptional set-piece delivery.
After 12 games, the West Ham man has more goals and assists than Szoboszlai, that’s true. But football is more than just numbers on a piece of paper, and we’d take the Hungary captain any day of the week.
So, although the question posed by Shearer, Lineker and Richards is a legitimate one, we don’t think Liverpool – or any of the other big sides – will be kicking themselves too hard.
