Manchester United legend Gary Neville has claimed Liverpool’s midfield is not as versatile as Manchester City’s and Arsenal’s, stating Declan Rice or Rodri would have made the Reds Premier League contenders.

Liverpool were held to a 2-2 draw in their Premier League meeting against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday (October). Jurgen Klopp’s side showed their attacking flair throughout the game, but their defending was not up to the mark, with them conceding a late 78th-minute goal to drop to two points at the Amex Stadium.

Neville Pinpoints Weakness In Liverpool

Speaking on his The Gary Neville Podcast after Sunday’s round of fixtures, the Englishman noted Liverpool’s weakness in midfield. He said that having a player like Rodri or Rice would have made them serious contenders for the Premier League title.

Neville said (via The Boot Room):

“They could, they’re more likely to than Spurs, no doubt about that. I think Liverpool have got something about them. Today they were playing against a really good Brighton side. They’ve got an outstanding goalkeeper, Liverpool, that I always think will keep them in a lot of football matches. And they’ve got strikers who can score goals and lots of them. They’ve got a good forward line.

“The midfield, it’s attacking. Has it got the defensive stability of what we’ve seen here today, when Rodri comes back in and when you see Rice and Partey and Jorginho Have they got that defensive stability, Liverpool If you put Declan Rice in Liverpool’s holding midfield position, or you put Rodri in there, I’d be saying Liverpool will definitely be on for the title.”

Liverpool Lost Two Defensive Midfielders To Chelsea

The Reds tried to bring in a top-tier defensive midfielder not once but twice over the summer, but they simply could not close the deal. They first reached an agreement in principle with Brighton over the transfer of Moises Caicedo. However, the player refused to move to Merseyside and chose to wait for Chelsea instead. The Blues eventually tabled a $140.07 million offer and signed the defensive midfielder.

After missing out on their first-choice defensive midfielder, Liverpool went for Southampton starlet Romeo Lavia. Once again, Chelsea crashed the party, prizing him away for a $74 million fee.