Michael Owen has praised Liverpool’s decision to allow Curtis Jones to join Inter Milan, despite some supporters believing the transfer could prove costly.
Jones had become a popular and useful squad player at Anfield, but his departure has opened the way for other academy prospects to compete for opportunities. No direct replacement was signed at the time.
Michael Owen backs Liverpool’s faith in youngsters
Owen believes Liverpool should avoid signing squad players simply to fill the gap and instead give their emerging talent a chance to develop.
“I think there are a couple of good youngsters and it is not the worst thing to trim your squad players and bring them through and try, you don’t want to block a pathway,” he said.
“I wouldn’t have thought they needed to buy squad players. If they can sign someone to come straight in, then fantastic, but I think the young kids coming through are good enough.”
Jones’s exit has created more opportunities for Trey Nyoni and James McConnell. Owen also said Liverpool’s priority should be finding a genuinely significant addition rather than spending simply for the sake of strengthening the squad.
“The hard thing for any club is you try to strengthen and you need a really good player to become available to do that,” he said.
“I would be more concerned: how much do you want to spend? Just be concerned to get them purring again and let’s get them playing well again.”
