There’s always one name that gets your attention and makes you think: just do it. Kees Smit is one of those, at least on the eye test. He looks like a proper talent, and you can see why supporters start daydreaming about him in a red shirt.
But the bigger point underneath it all is the one that matters: Liverpool can’t keep solving problems by shuffling good players into uncomfortable jobs. If you’re moving Dominik Szoboszlai around to cover a hole, you’re not just filling a position, you’re weakening another part of the side. He’s too good to be treated like a multipurpose patch.
Square pegs and the right-back knock-on effect
When the right-back spot doesn’t feel settled, everything else gets noisier. Your build-up changes, your pressing angles change, and suddenly one player is being asked to do two jobs. It’s not even about individual blame, it’s about reliability. You want that side of the pitch to be a platform, not a weekly debate.
That’s why the temptation with a player like Smit makes sense. Talent is talent. Still, there’s a reality check that comes with it as well: once “interesting” becomes “wanted”, the price tends to jump. And Liverpool, historically, don’t love getting dragged into a straight bidding war when the numbers start going silly.
Do we need another attacking midfielder?
Even if you rate Smit highly, you’ve got to ask the obvious question: where does it fit? If you’ve already added an elite creative option like Wirtz, the logic of piling into another attacking midfielder becomes less clear. Not because Smit isn’t good, but because squads need balance more than they need extra garnish.
What feels more pressing is the type of midfielder who makes everyone else better: the one who can defend space, win duels, cover transitions, and let the artists stay high and dangerous. That “complete” midfielder with real defensive bite. At the moment, it’s fair to say Liverpool look a touch light there, especially when games turn into chaos for 20 minutes.
Left wing thoughts and the Bahoya idea
Then there’s the left side. The mention of Bahoya at Eintracht is interesting in a very specific way: electric pace, loves taking people on, carries the ball like he enjoys it. Raw? Absolutely. End product and awareness often take time with that profile.
If you’re talking about a cheaper option with upside, that sort of signing can make sense in the right market. But it also comes with the usual Liverpool question: are you buying someone to play now, or someone to develop? Because those are two different problems, and Arne Slot will want answers, not projects, in certain areas.
The truth is, it’s not hard to see why fans want change on the left at the moment. Form comes and goes, but standards don’t. And whoever plays there has to contribute without the ball as well as with it.
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