OPINION
Paris Saint-Germain star Adrien Rabiot is one of the most highly rated young midfielders in world football, but Liverpool are right to pay him no attention.
The Liverpool Echo reported recently that, despite appearing to be one of the favourites for the 6’2″ midfielder’s signature, the Merseyside club have no interest Rabiot.
Although a move for the soon-to-be free agent sounded great on paper, with the Reds securing a wonderful talent for no transfer fee, it really doesn’t make any sense for Jurgen Klopp’s team.
The German invested significantly in the centre of midfield this summer, bringing in Naby Keita and Fabinho from RB Leipzig and Monaco respectively, and those signings should be given the chance to become key players for the club.
If their spot in midfield were to be taken a year after they joined there would’ve been no point in signing them? Both men must be allowed to assert themselves on this Liverpool team and prove why they were signed in the first place.
Additionally, the likes of Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Georginio Wijnaldum are too good to merely be swept aside for the hot, new thing. Milner and Wijnaldum have started the season superbly, while Henderson is the team’s captain and leader.
And where would Rabiot’s signing have left the injured Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain? It’s easy to forget that the former Arsenal man joined the Reds for £35million a year ago, and he is an expensive recruit in his own right. He will be expecting first team football when he returns from the sidelines too.
While options are always good for a manager, Klopp risks choking on the number of central midfielders at his disposal as it is. To add another to the mix would be tantamount to madness.
What Klopp doesn’t want to do is stunt the growth of his current players by signing an unnecessary new one. Oxlade-Chamberlain, Keita and Fabinho are all young enough to improve significantly in the future if given regular game time; Rabiot would be a serious obstacle to that.
In the end, the Reds’ indifference towards Rabiot is a good thing. The Frenchman would be a nice, new toy for Klopp, but the German must focus on his current collection if he is to bring the best out of them.
