Several of Liverpool’s star players are in the spotlight after the 2-1 defeat to Manchester United, but one summer signing in Arne Slott is again in doubt.
A worried Steve Nicholl believes Liverpool players “don’t trust” Milos Kerkez after a difficult start to the game at Anfield and believes the left-back should be dropped after he struggled again in the defeat to Manchester United.
Kerkes played in the Premier League for Bournemouth last season and was signed for £40m this summer, but the Hungarian international remains a shadow of the player who attracted attention on the south coast in his red shirt.
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp once again criticized the 21-year-old during the 2-1 defeat to United, describing Kerkes as a “nervous player”. And Nicol believes that Kerkes’ new teammates’ lack of trust in him in matches is a direct result of his erratic performances since joining the champions.
read more: Five immediate issues facing Arne Slott as Liverpool deal with their worst result in 11 yearsread more: Jamie Carragher leaves ‘best signing’ on the bench in £125m Liverpool signing
“The biggest problem I have, and one of the biggest reasons why I don’t think Kelkes should start, is not just what he’s giving the backline, especially Virgil van Dijk, but the rest of the team doesn’t trust Kelkes,” Nicol told ESPN.
“Kerkes reacts to that and panics and then gets scared and doesn’t want to make a mistake. That’s why he keeps going backwards and playing easy balls backwards. But it’s not just Virgil van Dijk. Everyone in the team doesn’t want to give him the ball.”
“It’s a terrible position for Kekules, but Arne Slott has to understand that it’s a much worse position for the team than the fact that Kekules isn’t having a particularly good time.”
Kelkes was brought on to challenge Andy Robertson at left-back. However, Nicholl urged Slott to move Conor Bradley from right-back after the Scotland international did not perform well in 2024-25.
“I would absolutely pull Bradley to that side,” he continued. “I don’t think Andy Robertson is ready to start at the moment.
“I would say to Bradley, first and foremost, your job is to protect and back up Gakpo on the left side. You don’t have to run through Gakpo, you don’t have to run into the middle of the park. You need to be solid.”
“And I would bring Frimpong (on the right wing) because he cheers everyone up. He has an energy that is contagious. And right now Liverpool need a little bit of spark to cheer everyone up and I think Frimpong will do that.”
“Yes, he’s not the best defender, but he’ll give everything, and that energy is definitely important.”
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