Gary Neville has expressed his surprise at how strong Liverpool’s midfield has been under Arne Slot, and in doing so summed up the problems at Man United.
The midfield unit of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai has been an undoubted success so far under Slot, with the performances of Curtis Jones adding to that.
In some ways it was unexpected, particularly in the case of Gravenberch, who is reborn as a No. 6 under his fellow Dutchman.
And speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Sky Sports pundit Neville echoed that sentiment, insisting that Liverpool’s midfielders are “outperforming their individual reputations.”
“He’s gone supernova!” ?
Could Liverpool’s midfield three unlock their success this season? ? pic.twitter.com/TnKemEao3J
— The Overlap (@WeAreTheOverlap) October 24, 2024
“If you said to me Liverpool were playing with a midfield of Gravenberch, Jones and Szoboszlai, I would say ‘you’ve got to be able to get on top of that’,” he said.
“That’s what you would think in terms of their names, the seasons that they had last year – for example Gravenberch struggled a little bit, Curtis Jones in and out.
“Why do Liverpool’s midfield, no matter what combination they seem to put in there, seem to collectively outperform their individual reputations? Why is that?
“Caicedo, Lavia, Palmer was the Chelsea midfield. They did OK, but Liverpool’s midfield…Curtis Jones was Man of the Match!”
There is a truth in the sense that, as Liverpool’s engine room was rarely their strongest point under Jurgen Klopp, the change under Slot has taken some by surprise.
But Neville’s use of words such as “names” and “reputations” draws a stark comparison with the club he effectively represents.
Man United‘s transfer strategy has long appeared more focused on name value rather than what signings can offer to the system employed by their manager.
Casemiro, Matthijs de Ligt and, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo are prime examples of this in recent years, with those signings lauded by influential ex-United players like Neville and Rio Ferdinand.
Then-chief executive Richard Arnold was also reported to have boasted to shareholders that Odion Ighalo became “the top trend worldwide on Twitter” when he was brought in on loan from Shanghai Shenhua in 2020.
Fortunately, that is not a process Liverpool follow when it comes to recruitment, and though the likes of Mac Allister, Gravenberch and Szoboszlai were familiar names before they moved to Anfield, they were all brought in as the right fit.
That is proving to be the case this season, with it evident that coaching trumps name value when it comes to “outperforming reputations.”
