Jamie Carragher’s biggest fears have come true regarding Liverpool’s decision to sign two top strikers during the summer transfer window.
The Reds spent big on new players in the summer transfer window, with Alexander Isak joining in a deal worth £125m, while Liverpool could also sign Hugo Ekitike for a potential £79m.
Carragher was concerned at the time that Liverpool were spending too much money on Ekitike, with the Reds legend fearing the France international would simply be a “replacement” for Isak.
Mr Carragher said in August: “I have some doubts about Isaac. The only thing is I’m not sure where he (Ekitike) is going to get the minutes, but that’s up front.”
“With[Florian]Wirtz in the squad, it’s difficult to play those two up front. He only costs £115m, so like Isak, he’ll play every game as long as he’s fit.”
“This player will end up replacing Isak or playing a few minutes on the left wing, but you never know if he can reach his full potential if you sign a player like Isak.
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“I only think from the perspective of the manager and player hierarchy.
“There are five or six guys who play every week and when you spend that amount of money, Isaac becomes one of them.
“I think sometimes you have competition for certain positions and sometimes you get substitutes. If Isak joins Liverpool, Ekitike is the substitute and for me £80m is a lot of money for a substitute.”
Liverpool ended a four-game losing streak in the Premier League at the weekend by defeating Aston Villa ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League clash with Real Madrid.
With Isak facing fitness concerns and the Sweden international missing the last three competitive games, Ekitike has been given a chance to impress.
Isak and Ekitike have only started one game together this season, with Liverpool boss Slott preferring to play one striker up front and Carragher claiming his mind is still “confused” as to how that will “work out”.
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Carragher told Sky Sports on Monday night: “I fully understood that it wasn’t going to be easy and I was always concerned about buying two strikers who play in the same position for that amount of money.
“It’s very difficult to see a Liverpool team put two strikers on the pitch. It’s not easy to do that. So even if Ekitike is doing well, it’s understandable that they want to bring Isaac into the team, because he’s a great player, he has to be fit and they’re paying him a lot of money.”
“It’s confusing how this is going to play out, but so far Ekitike is in the kit and playing very well. If he leaves the team to train more and get more fit, it will probably be a little bit better for Isak.”
In a recent edition of X, he added: “In the past, Liverpool would only sign Ekitike instead of Isaac.
“He’s profiled as someone who could be as good as Isaac while having a similar profile at half the price, but perhaps that happened sooner than expected. Slots poses a selection problem with two special #9s at his disposal…”
