Former England striker Emile Heskey regrets the failure of Liverpool to land Elliot Anderson after they lost out to Manchester City in the fight for the tough-tackling midfielder.
Anderson had a breakout season with Nottingham Forest last time out, forcing his way into Thomas Tuchel’s plans for World Cup 2026, where he shone alongside Declan Rice in central midfield.
Man City have been seeking a successor to midfield general Rodri, who also dazzled at this summer’s tournament and helped Spain become world champions.
And new manager Enzo Maresca got his number one target when Man City signed Anderson in a reported £116 million transfer to the Etihad Stadium.
Reds ‘should have gone for’ Anderson
During an exclusive interview with 10bet, former Liverpool hitman Heskey said of Anderson: “I like him. I liked him a lot.
“I was actually saying that Liverpool should have probably gone for him.
“I think he’s someone who is aggressive and can cover the ground – winning the ball back and punching it through to the number 10.
“If you have a number 10, they need that supply, and he seemed like the right guy to really break up play and be aggressive in there.
“Where does he fit within that elite bracket? I think he’s up there with the best of them, and he’s shown it, to be fair to him.”
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It’s time to talk about Bruno
England star Morgan Rogers has since moved from Aston Villa to Chelsea for £117m as the summer transfer window clicks into gear ahead of the new Premier League season.
Newcastle United playmaker Bruno Guimarães, meanwhile, has expressed an interest in joining Mikel Arteta’s defending champions Arsenal.
And Heskey thinks Magpies boss Eddie Howe will struggle to hang onto his star player, having seen Alexander Isak join Liverpool and Anthony Gordon move to Barcelona.
Heskey added: “They’ve already sold two of their best players, and he’s the other one.
“What’s he going to do? He’s thinking, ‘You built me up and now you’re selling the team.’
“So, the reality is you’d probably sell him, let him go and then start building again with other players.
“Recruitment is key. Recruitment isn’t just something where you say, ‘Oh, there’s a bid coming in for [Sandro] Tonali, let’s quickly scour the transfers we can go for now.’
“No, this is something that is built over years – keeping an eye on players, their values and everything else.
“So, the reality is they probably knew some of this was coming in the future anyway, and they need to act on it.”
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More frustration for Newcastle boss Howe
Heskey feels for Howe, though, and said of the Newcastle boss: “It feels like you’re frustrated more than worried.
“You’re frustrated that you can’t truly have a go at breaking into that top four and spending the money that needs to be spent to be competitive domestically and to be competitive in the Champions League, with those extra matches.
“So, you just end up being frustrated.”
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SportJustSport writers 
Aidan Leo