Liverpool clearly need another handful of players to complete their squad rebuild under Andoni Iraola.

The Reds have had a messy couple of years in the transfer window, decimating the group which won the Premier League with Arne Slot and replacing them with expensive signings who are yet to prove their worth.

Liverpool should sign Anderson and Saliba

Liverpool chose not to bolster their midfield this summer, instead putting faith in Trey Nyoni to step up after the sale of Curtis Jones.

Nyoni has impressed so far, but Iraola is still missing a properly dominant central midfielder in the mould of Anderson. Had Nicol been in charge of transfers, he would’ve had Liverpool involved in the race to sign the Geordie for £116m.

“I’d say Anderson at Man City,” the pundit told ESPN when asked which Premier League player he would sign to make Liverpool competitive again.

Pushed to add more names to his list, Nicol also claimed that putting together an all French centre-back partnership of Jeremy Jacquet and Saliba would be next on his radar.

“I would like a Saliba at centre-back,” he said. “An all French centre-back pairing would be great. That would be my other one. Anderson and Saliba would make a huge difference to Liverpool.”

Nicol also claimed that the Reds need upgrades at both right and left-back, but did not put forward any potential names in either position.

“We need a left-back and a right-back,” he said. “Robbo [Andy Robertson] would still be better than what we’ve got, but, no, it was time to move on. When you move on you expect to be better, but it hasn’t worked out. I would have Robbo over Tsimikas and Kerkez, put it that way.”