John Barnes on Liverpool Transfers: There is no Bournemouth player better then what we have

The World Cup is in full swing but we've not forgotten about the upcoming Premier League season. We're delighted to have Liverpool and England legend John Barnes on board as our official World Cup Ambassador throughout the tournament and we'll have regular reaction to all the latest news at Anfield.

We asked John about the latest Liverpool transfer rumours and here are his thoughts...

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New customers only. Register, deposit with Debit Card, and place first bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get £30 in Sports Free Bets & £20 in Bet Builder Free Bets within 24 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility & payment exclusions apply. T&Cs Apply.

Premier League Odds

We spoke to 62-year-old John recently and our first question was about one of the standout stars of the opening round of World Cup games, Morocco's Ayyoub Bouaddi, who continues to be linked to both Arsenal and Liverpool. How impressed was he with his performance on Saturday night and would he be excited to see Bouaddi playing in the Premier League with his former club?

“I don’t make decisions on players based on one game. I don’t make decisions on players based on six months or one season. If he comes to the Premier League his level of consistency could drop because he’s young and inexperienced, but he’s a great prospect with great potential.

If he’s to come to Liverpool, I don’t expect him to start for them, so he’s not coming to rescue them, but I’m sure he’d be a good addition to Liverpool’s squad, or any squad for that matter.”

John Barnes

“Phil Neal played every game for six seasons at Liverpool. Players nowadays take very good care of themselves, they’re fit and centre-backs play longer than others.

He doesn’t run around the pitch like a midfielder, up and down. He’s experienced and I’m not worried about Virgil playing every minute of every game. He’ll be fine.”

John Barnes

Another player linked to Merseyside this summer is PSG and France winger Bradley Barcola. Is that a move that would get Barnes excited if there was any truth to it?

“Well it could get me excited, but I don’t believe that creating chances and scoring goals is our problem. Looking at the defence and midfield, we’ve not been protecting our back four or defending particularly well. If we were looking to sign a defender or defensive midfielder I’d be more excited.

We’ve already got lots of exciting players going forward. If he comes in, then he’ll play ahead Rio Ngumoha and set him back, so looking at the balance of the team, then I don’t think it’s a signing we necessarily need.

Our problems have been conceding goals so yes, he’d be a great addition but we should be looking elsewhere as well.”

John Barnes

And lastly we asked Barnes if there were any players currently playing at new boss Andoni Iraola's old club, Bournemouth, that he would like to see at Anfield?

“There’s no Bournemouth player I’d like to see him bring to Anfield with him because I don’t think there’s a Bournemouth player who’s better than what we already have. 

Alex Scott is somebody that’s trusted by Andoni Iraola, but I think the only reason he’d arrive at the club would be solely due to the manager. Iraola understands him and if Arne Slot was still the manager, and he’s a different manager to Andoni, then maybe he’d have been less suited.”

John Barnes