Ex-Liverpool winger fears ‘battle to stay in the top 10’ as he calls out ‘unbelievable’ player

Former Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant fears that his former club could struggle to finish in the top half of the Premier League this season unless they address two positions in particular in the final days of the summer transfer window.

The Reds have begun the campaign with a pair of 2-2 draws against Newcastle and Nottingham Forest both of which saw them coming from behind twice to rescue a point with a late equaliser, and the latter result at Anfield today felt very much like a case of two points dropped.

Andoni Iraola’s side are on the verge of completing the marquee addition of winger Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain, but the pundit feels that there are other parts of the squad in much greater need of addressing before the market shuts on Tuesday night.

Pennant fumes after Liverpool draw to Forest

Taking to X an hour after the final whistle today, Pennant raged: ‘Well well well. Liverpool 2-2 Forest AT ANFIELD’.

The former Reds winger urged the club to sign a defensive midfielder and a right-back, or else face a ‘battle to stay in the top 10’ of the Premier League table this season.

The 43-year-old then turned on Florian Wirtz as he told the German: ‘There’s no denying you have bags of talent [and are] an unbelievable player, but so far your [sic] miles off it.’

(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

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Liverpool squad still needs attention in the transfer market

While we don’t share Pennant’s pessimism of potentially not even finishing in the top half, we fully agree that Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes ought to address at least one of the positions that the ex-Reds winger mentioned in the final three days of the transfer window.

The need for a top-class number 6 has been evident in recent weeks and months, and right-back Jeremie Frimpong switched off at the worst possible moment today as Neco Williams peeled off him just before the penalty which was awarded to Forest following a quick throw-in.

We find the criticism of Wirtz rather strange, with the 23-year-old being one of our better performers on the day as he worked hard to create chances for his team, had a goal disallowed and was unlucky not to score when his close-range header was brilliantly saved by Matz Sels.

The Germany international also claimed an assist for the late equaliser from Victor Munoz, setting up the Spanish winger with a sublime through ball which was overlooked by the quality of the finish from the summer signing.

It’s hard to fault our number 7 today, but we do agree with Pennant’s pleas for Liverpool to strengthen Iraola’s squad in the final days of the transfer window, especially when there are still numerous issues holding us back on the pitch.