Gary Neville has been harshly critical of the state of Liverpool’s backline after consecutive defeats and believes Milos Kerkes should be replaced by Arne Slott as manager.
Gary Neville has admitted that Liverpool manager Arne Slott has little choice but to remove Milos Kerkes from the starting XI as the summer signing continues to struggle defensively.
The Reds spent £40m to sign the Hungarian from Bournemouth, but he mainly impressed in an over-performing side. He hasn’t been able to produce the same level since stepping up. Kelkes was initially introduced as a left-back in place of Reds mainstay Andy Robertson, but concerns soon arose. The Scotsman featured in a few games but returned for Saturday’s defeat to Brentford.
Despite scoring his first goal for Liverpool, Neville believes Slott needs to remove the 21-year-old from the starting XI after the team’s backline has not responded in recent weeks. He told Sky Sports: “Actually, I think there were quite a few games that they lost that they could have come back and won if they had taken their chances. At the beginning of the season, I felt that their full-backs weren’t right. Maybe Ibrahima Konate’s time wasn’t right, Virgil van Dijk was holding the team together and Alisson was in goal.”
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“We have two world-class performers in Van Dijk and Alisson, but the virus is spreading. It’s not just the left-backs now. We’re worried about the left-backs. He (Kerkes) scored last night, but looking at him, I think he should be left out.”
“I’m worried about the right-back. (Jeremy) Frimpong is not a right-back. Conor Bradley was released, but I’m rooting for him because I think he has a lot of talent, but it’s difficult when the team concedes goals and the pressure is on.”
Slott admitted Liverpool have struggled to deal with long balls in recent weeks. He has also shown to be ruthless in his selections, hooking Kerkes after 38 minutes in the win against Burnley.
He came on for simulation in the 22nd minute, which led to the hosts’ defensive aim and led to Liverpool’s early substitution.
In light of the criticism, Slott was forced to defend his summer deal.
Last week he said: “The reason we brought him in, I can tell you, is because he brings a lot of energy to the game and keeps going up and down.”The Liverpool manager also claimed that Kerkes “defends very well in one-on-one situations against wingers.”
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