Liverpool's Midfield Flaw: Sturridge Questions Summer Planning

Daniel Sturridge has thrown a sharp spotlight on Liverpool’s summer planning, questioning how a glaring midfield flaw is still haunting the team — and why a player like Mamadou Sangare was allowed to go elsewhere.

The former Reds striker was on punditry duty as Liverpool opened their 2026/27 Premier League campaign with a chaotic 2-2 draw at Newcastle United, a game that felt uncomfortably familiar despite the arrival of new head coach Andoni Iraola.

Old problems under a new boss

New season, new manager. Same soft centre.

Liverpool were sliced open within minutes at St. James’ Park. Ryan Gravenberch lost the ball on the edge of the Newcastle box and, in a few ruthless passes, the hosts went from back to front. The visitors were carved apart in transition and Anthony Elanga finished the move to put Newcastle ahead.

The pattern was depressingly clear. Liverpool pushed bodies forward, but every turnover looked dangerous. Control in midfield? Almost non-existent.

Cody Gakpo briefly dragged Iraola’s side level early in the second half, finishing to offer a glimpse of resilience. Yet the balance of the team remained off, and the punishment came again. Another transition, more space to attack, and this time substitute Joe Willock punished Liverpool to restore Newcastle’s lead.

Only deep into stoppage time did Liverpool escape with a point. Victor Munoz drew a penalty after a foul from Lewis Hall, and Dominik Szoboszlai stayed ice-cool from the spot to make it 2-2.

The late equaliser changed the scoreline. It didn’t change the conversation.

Sturridge: “They’re all naturally more attacking”

Speaking on Sky Sports after the game, Sturridge cut straight to the heart of the issue.

"I think the team needs a defensive midfielder, personally," he said. "We've been talking about a defensive midfielder at Liverpool for the last three years and I think Gravenberch coming in and winning the league changed that philosophy.

"But, if you actually analyze the midfield, they're all naturally more attacking players."

That was the theme of his criticism: profile, not talent. He wasn’t questioning the quality of Liverpool’s midfielders, but the blend. Too many creators, not enough destroyers.

Which is where Sangare came into the discussion.

The Sangare question

Sturridge pointed to Brentford’s signing of Mamadou Sangare as the type of move Liverpool could, and perhaps should, have made.

"For instance, if you look at Brentford signing Mamadou Sangare," he said. "The stats jump out on the page. They are third in interceptions, third in tackles, third in possession recovered.

"For me, £39 million, you think to yourself, that's not a load of money for someone like Liverpool."

Sangare, who joined Brentford this summer for that fee, offers exactly the traits Liverpool currently lack: interceptions, tackles, and ball recoveries at an elite rate. Sturridge stopped short of saying Liverpool definitely should have signed him, but his point was clear.

"I'm not suggesting he was the man, but the stats jump out the page. Liverpool don't have that profile of player right now."

No destroyer, no fear

Sturridge then turned to the players already at Anfield. He praised young Trey Nyoni, but underlined that the teenager is a different kind of midfielder.

"Trey Nyoni, I really like him, but he's more of a ball playing eight," he said. "He's not a destroyer and won't strike fear in the opposition, like a Sangare can. Or an N'Golo Kante over the years."

That word — destroyer — is the one Liverpool fans have been circling for seasons. Someone to anchor, to screen, to break up counters before they become panic.

Sturridge also suggested that even Szoboszlai, the late penalty hero, is being used away from his best role.

"I also think, if I'm being honest, [Dominik] Szoboszlai is better as a no.10."

So the picture he painted was stark: a midfield full of attacking eights and creative profiles, but without the one specialist who can knit it all together defensively.

A familiar warning as the window ticks on

Liverpool escaped Tyneside with a point and a dramatic moment, but the performance reopened a debate that has rumbled for three years and outlasted managers.

Iraola has brought new ideas and a different energy. What he doesn’t yet have is the kind of defensive midfielder Sturridge and many supporters believe is essential if Liverpool are to control games at the top level.

The transfer window is still open. The question now is whether this warning, delivered on day one of the season, finally forces Liverpool to act — or whether they try to outrun the same old problem one more time.