With Mohamed Salah remaining at the club, according to Jermaine Pennant, Liverpool should now be aiming to fight Manchester City for the championship.
Salah was the target of a £150 million summer transfer bid from Al-Ittihad of the Saudi Pro League, but Liverpool made it clear that they weren’t interested in selling.
Even yesterday, there were rumors that Liverpool will get a “sensational” £225 million offer from Al-Ittihad before the Saudi transfer window closed last night.
And former Liverpool winger Pennant believes the Reds “are in a better place” than 2022/23 runners-up Arsenal to challenge Man City for the Premier League title this season.
Pennant said on talkSPORT: “Minimum [expectation] is top four. The way we have started so far is ten times better than how Liverpool started last season. They look solid. Little bit worried about the defence but going forward, they look strong.
“The midfield is a really good midfield now. Young, energetic, [Dominik] Szoboszlai looks very good. Keeping Mo is not only going to be good for Liverpool but good for everything to do with Liverpool.
“The players will see Mo there, they know what he will give you. Goals, assists… and with him staying there, they should know be looking to challenge Manchester City like they have for the last five years, bar last season.
“At the moment, I’d say Liverpool are in a better place than Arsenal. I’ll say in the games so far, they have played a lot better than Arsenal.
“Mikel Arteta is still tweaking… he is trying to fit people into the team.
“Write Manchester United off, because they are all over the shop. I think if Liverpool played Arsenal, Liverpool are the better team and would be favourites going into that game.”
Liverpool legend John Aldridge recently assessed the Reds transfer business over the summer, he told William Hill: “We’re doing a little bit of a rebuild situation, as we all know.
“Some big players have gone out, so you just need to trust Jurgen Klopp – hopefully the owners will give him the tools he needs. Some people think it hasn’t been a great pre-season with some of the signings, but it’s not that bad!
You look at the two lads in midfield who have come in, in particular – Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai – and they excite me. Having said that, we all know as fans that we all need at least one more centre-half.
“Up front ,we’ve got five fantastic players and goalscorers, plus another lad who excites me as well – Ben Doak. I love watching his attitude; he’s like one of the proper Jocks who used to play for Liverpool and I think we’ll see a lot of him this season – so there’s actually six attackers there.
“For the midfield – I do think that they lack a defensive midfield player. I don’t know what Ryan Gravenberch is going to be like. For me, the club needed a top centre-half and perhaps a top full-back as well – but the manager already knows that
