Forget Not Beating Manchester United And Man City, This Summer Transfer Blunder From Liverpool Might Have Cost Them The Premier League Title

Liverpool face Watford tonight under pressure at the top of the Premier League table but feeling the heat of the title race.

The Liverpool squad has seen their lead at the top whittled away in recent weeks and the majority now believe that Man City are going to be extremely tough to beat inb the coming weeks.

There is no doubt that Jurgen Klopp has built a fantastic squad over the past two years, one that has seen the Anfield club improve beyond all recognition. The Reds have gone from a mid-table squad under Brendan Rodgers to a team capable of challenging on all fronts, domestically and in Europe.

There is however one small area of weakness at Anfield which may well prove their undoing at the very highest level. The lack of creativity in midfield has been there for all to see and that was certainly the case at Old Trafford on Sunday as they failed to breakdown a defensive Man United team who had no real interest in coming out of their shape.

Only six goals have come from the Liverpool midfield this term which simply isn't enough for potential champions and that is being highlighted even more with the famed front three of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino all struggling to hit their best form in recent weeks.

The solution was already identified by Jurgen Klopp last summer with Nabil Fekir selected as the man to replace Philippe Coutinho as the creative force from midfield. A deal to sign the French play-maker was done, a fee and terms had been agreed and there was even a video made of the player in a Liverpool shirt, so confident the Reds were of a deal being done.

The move came to a sudden halt when Fekir failed a medical and the Premier League club were forced to pull the plug, but could that decision come back to haunt them?

Fekir would have been the ideal man to unlock defence like Man United's at the weekend and there is no doubt that Liverpool will face similarly stubborn teams between now and the end of the campaign.

The Lyon captain has scored eight goals in 19 Ligue 1 matches this season to once again prove himself to be a world class talent and given the way the Reds have struggled at times this campaign, he is exactly the player they need to see them over the line.

Medical issues cannot be avoided of course, but is there a case now to be made that the World Cup winner would have been worth the risk? A player with the x-factor to pick a pass from nothing will surely be on the agenda again this summer for Liverpool, but will any new target offer a better solution that Fekir would have last summer?