Steven Gerrard ‘couldn’t believe’ that Liverpool rejected the chance to sign £13m star
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Liverpool have been rather astute operators in the transfer market over recent years, although this has not always been the case.The Reds went big this summer after spending close to £450m on new signings, and although the majority are yet to make an impression, most fans are confident that this will change soon.However, Liverpool have not always been this positive in the transfer market and a few big players have slipped through the net and got away.Steven Gerrard knew this better than anyone as across his 17-year Liverpool career, he saw the club make many mistakes in terms of recruitment.In fact, there is still one choice the club made that he still speaks about to this day, with the former captain still shocked about why they never bought him.5 Jan 2002: Nicolas Anelka of Liverpool celebrates his goal during the AXA FA Cup Third Round match between Liverpool and Birmingham City at Anfield, Liverpool. Mandatory Credit: Clive Brunskill/ Getty ImagesSteven Gerrard cannot believe Liverpool did not sign Nicolas AnelkaLiverpool have always been synonymous with having iconic strikers who certainly knew where the back of the net was, with this still the case now.But they could have had many more quality players at this end of the pitch if it were not for their poor recruitment strategy, with this being something that frustrated Gerrard at the time.
A good example of this is that back in 2002, the Reds passed up on the opportunity to sign Nicolas Anelka and instead opted for El Hadj Diouf, a move that Gerrard still cannot believe.“We got recruitment badly wrong at times. I’ll give you one example, we had the chance to sign Nicolas Anelka or El Hadj Diouf, and we bought Diouf on the back of a four or five game World Cup instead of someone off the back of five or six years,’ he said on Rio Ferdinand Presents.“That one example was an example of the club getting it wrong as it was one of the biggest mismatches.“Anelka came into our training sessions, was the coolest man ever, calm, relaxed, you just knew he had aura and confidence in himself, he was ready to win.
READ MORE: Alan Shearer claims £40m man has actually become a worse player since signing for Liverpool“Anelka was coming in and he was a level above everyone else, but then that decision was made and I couldn’t believe what was happening.”El Hadj Diouf never lived up to expectationsIt was certainly a gamble by Liverpool to take a punt on Diouf, who was an up-and-coming star, but it did not pay off one bit.Despite excelling at the World Cup, the Senegalese forward scored just six goals in 80 appearances for the Reds, showing how he never lived up to expectations. After two seasons, he was shipped off to Bolton Wanderers, with his career then going on a downward spiral ever since.As for Anelka, he went on to have a very successful career, with the Frenchman playing over 100 times for Chelsea, winning the Premier League in the process.