Jamie Carragher weighed in on how Liverpool can solve their early-season woes with Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, and in his mind, it’s Arne Slot who needs to change.
Liverpool spent £241m (add-ons included) on the double signing of Wirtz and Isak. Prior to Sunday’s clash with Manchester United, the pair have returned figures of one assist and no goals from 10 league appearances between them.
Isak has been eased in after a disrupted pre-season. The same cannot be said of Wirtz who got starts from day one, but was named on the bench for the second consecutive match on Sunday.
When assessing what needs to change and how Liverpool can get the best out of their big-money buys, Jamie Carragher pointed to Real Madrid.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Carragher suggested it’s “nonsensical” that Wirtz will remain out of Liverpool’s starting eleven for extended periods this season.
At £116m, the German simply has to play, meaning it’s up to Liverpool and their manager to find a way to make things work.
Carragher claimed the pressure is now on Slot, rather than the two players, to find solutions. In Carragher’s mind, Slot must act like a Real Madrid manager…
“They’ve brought in a lot of players and it’s given the manager a few problems,” said Carragher.
“When you have spent that much on players, you have to make that work and you have to find a way to get the players into the team.
“The idea that Florian Wirtz won’t get into the Liverpool team most weeks is nonsensical. You are going to have to find a way to make it work.
“It makes me think a little bit of Real Madrid. The summer Liverpool had was Real Madrid-like, it wasn’t Liverpool-like.
“Liverpool don’t normally – at least when I played and under Jurgen Klopp – go and buy the best players on the market for the most money. That wasn’t the way Liverpool did things, but they did it this summer.
“Alexander Isak is arguably the best available striker on the market and Florian Wirtz is the best No 10, they paid big money for them.
“That’s what Real Madrid would do most summers – and then the managers like Vicente del Bosque or Carlo Ancelotti would just have to figure it out. They would be given a set of players and that’s what Arne Slot has got to do.
“It’s been a Real Madrid summer for Liverpool in terms of transfer fees, they may need their manager to be a Real Madrid manager as such for the next few months and just try and make things work.
“Not necessarily getting them into his system, but how does he get this team functioning well and getting the best from them?”
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In other news, Slot is having a major say in whether a high profile Liverpool star has a future at Anfield.
Elsewhere, Real Madrid believe signing a Liverpool star represents far better value than moving for an Arsenal ace.
Finally, Real Madrid are being mentioned alongside a shock swoop for Florian Wirtz despite joining Liverpool just a few months ago.