Pundits have urged Liverpool head coach Arn Slott to leave out one of the Reds’ star players who is currently “a long way from being in the first eleven” against Manchester United.
Liverpool were thrown into a bit of a crisis before the international break after suffering three successive defeats against Crystal Palace, Galatasaray and Chelsea.
Prior to this, Slott’s side had been on a roll to move to the top of the Premier League, but they were lucky in this game as they had to rely on late goals and performances from key players.
Liverpool have now fallen from the top of the Premier League and are under pressure to get back on track with a win against arch-rivals Man United this weekend.
Liverpool are unbalanced after a £400m refurbishment in the summer and have some notable problems as most of their new signings are taking time to settle in.
Jeremy Frimpong, who was signed in the summer, is also one of the players who is attracting attention. Former Scotland international Don Hutchinson urged Slott to start Conor Bradley ahead of the Dutch international for the time being, while Andy Robertson looked like a “League Two player” against Chelsea.
“I want Bradley to start in the team right now, absolutely. With Frimpong’s current standards, I don’t think he can get anywhere near Liverpool’s starting eleven,” Hutchinson said.
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“I’ve watched every possible Liverpool game so far this season and in some games, like against Southampton, he just kept giving the ball away. Simple passes were deflected and his confidence is starting to disappear.”
“He played on the right wing against Galatasaray and I think that was Arne Slott experimenting with who would replace Salah when he was absent for the African Cup of Nations. But he was struggling then too. I think you see a young player struggling with his form.”
“When I look at Liverpool right now, I see a team in such poor form that they have to go back to basics. They need Bradley at right-back. As for left-back, it’s difficult to say.”
“I still rate Andy Robertson, but when you saw him put his hands on his knees when Estevao scored at Chelsea, you would think he was a League Two player.
“I’d like to know what he was thinking at that time when he was taking a breather. It’s a coin flip between Kerkes and Robertson on the left, but Bradley has to start on the right.”
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As for Robertson, the Liverpool star is in the final year of his contract, with Football Insider reporter Pete O’Rourke suggesting there is “no chance” he will leave in January.
“Probably in the second half of the season it will become clearer what the future holds for Andy Robertson,” O’Rourke told Football Insider.
“There’s no chance[of him]moving in January, Liverpool won’t allow that to happen and[they]won’t think they don’t need Andy Robertson after that.”
“His experience will be invaluable to Liverpool from now until the end of the season, and he is also vice-captain at Liverpool, which shows how much Arne Slott values him.”
