“He’s the one” – Paul Robinson urges Liverpool to sign ‘one of the best players’ he has seen
Reports have it that Liverpool are observing two exciting Premier League talents in Jarrod Bowen and Raphinha. Liverpool Echo's Paul Gorst claimed that the Reds will be in the market for a wide-forward in the summer.
According to former Leeds and England goalkeeper Paul Robinson, Leeds United's Raphinha would be a much better buy for Liverpool than West Ham's Bowen. In his interview with Football Insider, he claimed that Raphina would fit right into Liverpool’s attack:
"Raphinha would be the better option for Liverpool. He’s the one. He would fit straight into that front three. Bowen would give them a bit more defensive quality but that’s not to say Raphinha is afraid to do the work. I think Bowen is better suited to the system West Ham player under David Moyes.”
⚽️ Raphinha fires Leeds ahead at Norwich
😳 The Brazilian winger has scored 4 of Leeds' 9 Premier League goals this season (44.4%)
⏱️ Norwich 0-1 Leeds
He went ahead to note that he had seen few players better than Raphinha at Leeds, claiming that the star isn’t far from Sadio Mane’s quality. He also conceded that Raphinha's signing would be a very expensive one:
"Bowen is talented but Raphinha is one of the best players I have seen at Elland Road. The likes of [Sadio] Mane and [Diogo] Jota are top level players. But I don’t think Raphinha is far off that. It will not be an easy deal to do though. It would cost Liverpool a lot. It would be an expensive one.”
45% - Raphinha has scored 45% of Leeds' goals in the Premier League this season (5/11); the highest percentage for a player whose team have scored 10+ times in the competition. Talisman. https://t.co/cvjNBOmaeK
Both Raphinha and Bowen play as right-wing forwards for their respective teams. Bowen's contract at West Ham expires in 2025, while Raphinha's contract expires in 2024.
Liverpool to miss key players for Tottenham game due to Covid-19 outbreak
While Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur saw their mid-week fixtures called off due to COVID-19 outbreaks, Liverpool's game against Newcastle took place on Thursday. However, the Reds will have to deal with the loss of three stars when they face Spurs this weekend.
A club statement noted that Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones would miss the Tottenham game due to the isolation period:
"The three players are now isolating. As a result, the entire Reds’ set-up, including all players and staff, were tested for COVID-19 again today with no further positive cases being detected."
Fabinho, Curtis Jones and Virgil van Dijk will miss tonight’s Premier League fixture against Newcastle United after registering suspected positive tests for COVID-19.
Liverpool is scheduled to play Spurs on Sunday, 19 December. However, with the growing list of confirmed COVID-19 cases, it is uncertain which fixtures will be played this weekend.