Pundits Jamie Carragher and Roy Keane believe Liverpool risk missing the Champions League if they don’t acquire a new defender in January following a poor start to their campaign.
Liverpool legends Jamie Carragher and Roy Keane believe the club faces the potential of missing out on the Champions League next season if they fail to recruit a new defender in the January transfer window.
According to a report from Liverpool.com, Arne Slot’s side has endured a “poor start” to the Premier League season, with their title defense unraveling over the past couple of months amid a run of seven defeats in 10 games across all competitions.
Just 11 games into the campaign, Liverpool is already eight points behind current leader Arsenal.
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Carragher pointed to the club’s failure to sign Marc Guehi during the summer transfer window as a major turning point, a deal which saw the Reds have an offer accepted by Crystal Palace before the club pulled the plug at the eleventh hour.
Carragher expressed his deep concern over the defensive options, particularly with Giovanni Leoni expected to miss the rest of the season after tearing his ACL, leaving the club with only three senior center-backs: Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, and Joe Gomez. He stated, “That was a bad mistake [not signing Marc Guehi].
Liverpool are known as being really smart in the market, not overpaying and really good at selling. That could cost them. I think if Liverpool don’t sign a centre-back in January…”
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane then interjected, “They’d miss out on the Champions League.” To which Carragher replied, “I think they could.”
The report notes that Slot has already indicated that he would “not prefer to go to 24/25 players” but admitted that “it all depends on whether we get more injuries, yes or no, and if there’s a chance in the market.”