Like the idea of another center back, but surely we need a Quality striker with real pace first...?
Did not the Real game prove that..?
I'm just thinking starting lineup needs as most important. By the end of next year's Summer window at the latest, there should be no more ifs and buts about our starting players. Bringing in 3 starters in Keita, Fabinho, and Alisson this window has been great. Succeeding in bringing in Fekir would make it (kind of) a 4th (as I see him rotating between being a mid in the games we need and rotating for Salah/Mane, but still playing plenty of games).
This still leaves a question mark over that 2nd CB, more so than any doubt over Firmino being ineffective for us in a key game. The CL final, beyond the keeper mistakes and Salah injury, was a collective temperament and leadership issue. Everyone was relatively flat. No one seemed to have the courage and capacity to take the game by the horns. I think Keita and Fabinho (and especially Fekir) in midfield would have made the bigger difference in ensuring that tone hadn't eventuated in the first place, rather than just having a pacy striker who might have also not found himself in the game.
I understand your concern about depth and variety of options there, but I'd still put it behind getting a reliable starting CB to partner VVD. The way I see it, unreliable defenders can make you lose games with their mistakes. Unreliable attackers can make multiple mistakes but not necessarily cost you the game.
Still unsure if the Fekir deal is still on, but I imagine any other deal (and perhaps that one itself) will only come after offloading some of the likes of Ings, Origi, Markovic, and Mignolet etc. So I don't know if we'll be getting anyone new in for either position.
I'm kind of hoping for even a slight Sturridge renaissance. As critical as I've been about the Shaqiri signing (more to do with the other players we could've signed), I actually think he could do a role for us all along that front three.
But this has certainly been one of the most positively proactive transfer windows I've seen as a fan in improving our starting 11, so one has to be happy after what we've suffered through before. We'll be seriously challenging for the title this year.
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