Are Liverpool Right to Sell Lucas Leiva?

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has decided he doesn’t need a holding player, making his one specialist at the position available for £8M and signalling he feels he has no urgent need to bring in a replacement. As such, it now seems almost certain that Lucas Leiva will leave before the transfer window closes—and no replacement will be brought in.

As such, we want to know what you, Liverpool fans and TLO readers, think of the situation. Is Rodgers right to see Lucas as expendable despite that Liverpool have consistently played their best football in his three years at the club with the Brazilian anchoring midfield? Is the manager being foolish believing he can offload the club’s one specialist holding player without bringing in a replacement?

Or are Emre Can and Joe Allen enough? Neither have shown they can screen the defence consistently, and Allen has his own injury question marks while Can is young and at times struggles with stamina. And though both are good players, both seem better suited to slightly more advanced or flexible roles. Still, Can at least has youth and a great deal of raw physical potential and could grow into the role.

It could also be that Rodgers is convinced a more fluid midfield is possible, with three players sharing duties organically and swapping roles constantly. It’s a nice, total football-esque dream, but one that introduces a great deal of potential for defensive errors if all the players aren’t on the same page. So, tell us what you think, how you view the situation. Is Rodgers right to look to sell Lucas without replacing him?

Leave your vote and, if you’re so inclined, share your reasoning with us in the comments.