Phil Thompson has named the kind of player who Liverpool ‘need’ in their team as they prepare to begin a new era with Andoni Iraola in charge.
There’s been plenty of significant change at Anfield over the past month, with long-serving stalwarts Mo Salah and Andy Robertson leaving and Arne Slot being dismissed as head coach.
The full-back’s Scotland teammate John McGinn was the subject of some headline-grabbing comments from Roy Keane on The Overlap last week, when the ex-Manchester United captain said of the Aston Villa midfielder: “He’s done brilliant, but when he has his bad days, he looks like a pub player.”
Speaking on No Tippy Tappy Football, Thompson took umbrage at those comments from the Irishman and claimed that Liverpool are lacking someone of the 31-year-old’s tenacity and determination in midfield.
The former Reds captain said: “Roy Keane is one of the great players of our time. What was he good at? He influenced games, and not particularly with his skill, but his passion and commitment to the cause. That’s what your captain is all about, so for Roy to be saying that about McGinn, I think it was very harsh.
“John McGinn is a player that you all need. Look at Liverpool – we don’t have a John McGinn in our side. We don’t have a fella who demands from others, who can put a foot in and give away a needless free-kick just to say ‘I’m here’.
“They don’t have a [Jordan] Henderson or a [James] Milner anymore. I’m looking now; we need someone like a John McGinn. I’m not saying that he is right for Liverpool, but this is the sort of player who should never be decried.
“He brings so much to that Scotland side. He’s a good footballer, first and foremost, but his attitude rubs off on his team-mates, and he demands from others also.”
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Thompson’s comments are reminiscent of when Jason McAteer claimed after Liverpool’s defeat to Galatasaray last September that they lack a forceful character like Henderson or Milner, who were captain and vice-captain at Anfield respectively before their exits in 2023.
That the same point is still being made nine months later is telling, and it highlights an unquantifiable trait that no data algorithm can measure, but is apparent to anyone who suffered through watching a catalogue of feeble Reds performances over the past year.
LFC are highly unlikely to actually sign McGinn, considering that he turns 32 in October and plays for a direct positional rival; but a younger, more attainable alternative would be most desirable, especially now that another dressing room leader in compatriot Robertson has departed.
If said player had the Aston Villa midfielder’s potency, that’d also be especially welcome – the Scot netted 10 times for his club in the 2025/26 campaign and also scored his country’s winner against Haiti in their World Cup opener last weekend.
How Iraola could do with someone in his current squad stepping up to be that no-nonsense, standard-driving presence in the middle of the park, much like Henderson and Milner in their time at Anfield.
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