‘Get the attention’: Pundit says Klopp should scare his squad into action by selling 29-year-old now
Speaking on Virgin Media Sport, Damien Delaney has been discussing the rebuild needed at Liverpool and Fabinho’s future at the club.
More than any other player this season, Fabinho’s decline has been incredibly noticeable at Anfield.
The Brazilian has been off the pace since the first game of the season, and according to Delaney, the time has come for Liverpool to sell him.
The former Crystal Palace defender turned pundit says that Fabinho should be used by Jurgen Klopp as a sacrificial lamb to scare his squad into action, noting that Alex Ferguson would sometimes sell a star player in order to keep his team’s eye on the ball.
Sell Fabinho
The pundit gave his verdict on the midfielder.
“I stand by the claim that this Liverpool team have come away from the type of football that brought them the success, they brought in Thiago and tried to change the style,” Delaney said.
“Factor in that a number of players have fallen off a cliff with fatigue the likes of Fabinho, Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
“There’s a big rebuild needed over the summer, and I think there has to be a few sacrificial lambs with players who have been incredibly good for Liverpool in the last few years and it has to happen, if they’re spent, players like Fabinho, they just can’t give the level required, they need to be moved on. We saw it with Alex Ferguson for years, he’d sacrifice someone to get the attention of the squad and he would move on very swiftly, and Liverpool are at that stage now.”
Could work
It sounds harsh to say that Fabinho should be sold after so many years of good service, but as Delaney says, this is something we saw Alex Ferguson do time and time again at Manchester United.
The likes of Roy Keane and Paul Ince played this role over the years, while Jaap Stam was also put on the chopping block at one point – a move that Fergie has since lived to regret.
If Klopp wants to make this sort of statement then Fabinho is surely a prime candidate to go.
The Liverpool manager certainly has some big decisions to make this summer.
