Roy Keane has issued a bold claim regarding who he thinks will miss out on the Premier League's top four this season.
Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa ensured UEFA Champions League football in 2023/24, with Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United set to provide healthy competition as the new campaign approaches.
But Keane, a winner of Europe's elite club competition back in 1999 with the Red Devils, says one of England's most successful sides won't have enough to repeat a feat they have achieved in seven of the past eight Premier League seasons.
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Posed the question of whether Liverpool, under new management with Arne Slot, will make the top four, Keane issued a daring prediction on the matter. “Yes I think so, unless they get a couple of signings in the next few weeks," said the Sky Sports regular via the latest episode of The Overlap, brought to you by SkyBet.
It has been a frustrating summer so far for the Merseysiders, with not a single new signing yet to be sanctioned by the club under manager Slot. The former Feyenoord boss, however, has remained confident that good things are coming at Anfield this season, despite Klopp's high-profile exit.
Former defender Jamie Carragher has also quashed claims that Liverpool will falter amid suggestions their squad is in need of an overhaul, admitting that there still remains enough quality in the squad.
“I don’t think they’ll tank [Liverpool] no, I think Liverpool overachieved last season in terms of being in the title race for so long, I don’t think anybody really expected that," said Carragher when asked how he feels his boyhood club will fare. "And if Liverpool had a similar sort of season, I’d be delighted.
“It remains to be seen, sometimes new manager, fresh voice and I know what you are thinking, David Moyes comes in after [Sir Alex] Ferguson, or Unai Emery after Arsène Wenger, there’s going to be a huge shift, there’s no doubt about that.
"But the pre-season has gone pretty well, you know beating Manchester United, beating Arsenal, good result against Sevilla. But there is a hole in midfield that needs filling massively. And even when Zubimendi was talked about coming in, I was actually still thinking, ‘is he too similar to [Alexis] Mac Allister?’. You can imagine them two in midfield, great footballers, but is there enough aggression, is there enough pace?”
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