Gary Neville says Liverpool’s owners ‘caught out’ in transfer market as he questions ‘pinching’ Romeo Lavia over Moises Caicedo

Gary Neville has warned Liverpool’s owners that spending less than their competitors will eventually ‘hit them like a ton of bricks’.

The Reds have spent £95million this summer, bringing in World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton for £35m, before recruiting RB Leipzig’s Dominik Szoboszlai for £60m.

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Neville has said what many Liverpool fans have been thinkingCredit: YouTube

Meanwhile, club captain Jordan Henderson left the club for Steve Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq, earning the Reds £12m.

Fabinho and Roberto Firmino also left to join Saudi Pro League sides Al Ittihad and Al Ahli, respectively.

But despite this, the Reds have spent considerably less than their Premier League rivals in the last few windows, with last season’s title contenders Arsenal already spending £208m whilst Chelsea have splashed £171.5m.

The gap between the Reds and what their rivals are willing to spend on top players appears to be growing by the transfer window, and this is something Neville believes will be an issue for Liverpool for years to come, should it not be addressed.

“I think with Liverpool – and I have said this before, and it is coming this moment – the last two years, Chelsea have spent huge, Arsenal have spent huge, United have spent huge, City to be fair, are City and I think it’s caught them out,” he said on The Overlap.

“It’s caught the owners out. They haven’t got the money to compete, I think it’s shocked them the market. You know, the [Jude] Bellingham deal, £100-odd-million, [Declan] Rice £100-odd-million, [Enzo] Fernandez £100-odd-million, [Moises] Caicedo £100m.

“I think they’re at that £50m, 60m and they’re comfortable there, but I think they’ve hit the point where at they’ve hit the ceiling and they’re at a lower level than the other four, five clubs.

“It’s going to come and hit them like a ton of bricks at some point.”

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Liverpool under performed for a majority of last season but ended up finishing fifthCredit: Getty

After almost completing a quadruple in 2021/22, Liverpool came crashing back to earth, enduring a rocky season with inconsistent form, being knocked out of the cups and not qualifying for the Champions League.

And Neville believes there’s only so long Jurgen Klopp can keep his team competing whilst dealing with a lack of investment in the team.

“The manager, at some point, is going to wake up in the morning and go… because he’s shielding them, there’s no doubt,” Neville warned.

“He’s done an unbelievable job, the best job of anybody I believe in the last seven or eight years with the budget that he’s had and the spend that he’s had.

“But he can’t keep doing it. He can’t keep doing it. He needs that money to be able to go and compete.”

After being heavily linked with Jude Bellingham this summer, the Reds were unable to compete with the prices offered to Borussia Dortmund by other competitors, with Real Madrid ultimately snapping him up.

Amidst Liverpool’s attempt to rebuild their midfield, Brighton’s Caicedo has been linked with the Reds this summer, with Chelsea also keen on the Seagulls star.

However instead of pursuing £100m man Caicedo, the Reds have been chasing Southampton’s Romeo Lavia, having three bids rejected in the process, the most recent being £45m.

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Neville believes Liverpool have to go for CaicedoCredit: Getty

But Neville sees their pursuits of Lavia and Caicedo as a perfect example of Liverpool not being able to go for the targets they need to be going for to keep themselves at the top of the Premier League table.

“They should just be going to get the money for Caicedo now for [Klopp] and say ‘right, that’s dealt with and sorted, that’s £100m’,” he continued.

“But they’re not they’re trying to pinch someone off Southampton for £40m, who is a good player, don’t get me wrong. But Jurgen Klopp needs the real deal.

“But if we’re talking about what we were talking about before about challenging Manchester City, they can’t do it with a player that has potential, they need to do it with a player that’s real.

“I do think it’ll come back on the owners at some point. I know they’re building the stadium, they had to do that as Anfield had fallen so far behind. They’re left with no choice, and that’s driving revenue, that’ll pay itself off.

“But they’re not investing at the levels the other four, five teams are, they’re just not.”

Liverpool face Chelsea this Sunday as the clubs get their Premier League campaigns underway.

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