‘Big loss’ – Liverpool slammed for selling £65m star

Former Premier League midfielder Andy Reid has criticised Liverpool’s summer transfer business and believes misguided spending contributed to a dismal start to the season.

The defending champions spent over £400m on new signings over the summer but the incredible spending is yet to produce improved performances on the pitch.

Liverpool had in fact lost six of their last seven games in all competitions before Saturday’s much-needed 2-0 victory over Aston Villa.

A woeful run of form has left Liverpool seven points behind early Premier League pacesetters Arsenal and seen Arne Slot’s side crash out of the Carabao Cup.

Reid is critical of Liverpool’s business in the summer transfer window and says it was a mistake to sell Luis Diaz.

Diaz, a key player at Anfield for four seasons, completed a £65.5m move to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich back in July.

‘Liverpool have spent a hell of a lot of money and if Arne Slot thought his squad should be bigger then maybe they should’ve paid less transfer fees and maybe brought in more,’ Reid told BBC Radio 5 Live.

‘It’s alright after the event saying they don’t have a big enough squad, you have to cut your cloth accordingly, if you want to build a club that’s capable of building on all fronts like a club, like Liverpool should.

‘For me, one of the really big losses in this and, you see how well he’s doing at Bayern Munich, is Luis Diaz. What they’d do to have him and his energy at the moment.’

Diaz has enjoyed a fantastic start to his Bayern career, scoring five goals and making four assists in eight starts in the Bundesliga.

The Colombia international was not the only high-profile departure from Liverpool’s squad over the summer, with Trent Alexander-Arnold joining Real Madrid and Darwin Nunez moving to Saudi Arabia.

Mohamed Salah and Ryan Gravenberch were on target as Liverpool ended their four-game losing Premier League run against Aston Villa.

Following the win, Anfield captain Virgil van Dijk hit out the ‘ridiculous’ response to Liverpool’s recent slump.

‘What I have noticed over the last couple of weeks especially is that there is a lot of noise that you have no control over and that we have to deal with as a team,’ Van Dijk said.

‘Some of those takes are absolutely ridiculous. But you have to deal with that. It’s outside noise that can reach certain players, the group. It’s about sticking together.

‘We’re not going out there on the pitch to lose games, we’re not going out there to be disappointed after games or leave fans disappointed going home, we want to work our socks off and win games.

‘But there’s no guarantee. You play in the Premier League, the highest level, in the biggest league in the world, and it’s difficult to stay calm but you have to do if you want to get back to where we want to be.

‘That’s up there. But that’s something for later in the season to look at. Now it’s time to keep working, never get too high, never get too low.

‘We live in a world now, for footballers at least, because that’s the only thing I can speak about, where everyone can have their opinion on so many platforms and everyone knows it better.

‘We have to try to stay away from that and focus on the hard work we’ve been doing. Last season we didn’t hear much negative stuff. Everything was sunshine and rainbows everywhere.

‘Now it sounded like, by the outside world, we’re going to be in the relegation battle, so that’s how it works in the world.’

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

MORE: Scott Parker singles out Arsenal star for praise after Burnley defeat

MORE: Gary Neville says ‘only one team’ can deny Arsenal the Premier League title

MORE: Chelsea star Malo Gusto aims brutal dig at Tottenham after convincing win