Jamie Carragher put firmly in his place over Liverpool midfield ‘problem’ as Klopp makes final decision on £33m man
Danny Murphy completely disagrees with former Liverpool teammate Jamie Carragher over the midfield being Jurgen Klopp’s biggest issue this season, as the Reds boss comes to a decision on Arthur Melo’s long-term Anfield future.
Carragher was damning in his verdict of Klopp’s men after their 3-1 defeat at Brentford on Monday evening and was particularly scathing in his analysis of the midfield play, which was once a strength of Klopp’s side.
The result leaves the Reds sitting sixth in the table, seven points off fourth spot.
And while Cody Gakpo has been brought in bolster the attack, it’s midfield and defence where Liverpool have looked vulnerable all season long.
Although Carragher has his own take on why Klopp’s men are struggling, Murphy thinks it comes down to a ‘lack of confidence’ and ‘individual errors’.
Mix of two things hampering Reds
Speaking to talkSPORT, Murphy said: “I’ve said it before, and I don’t mind repeating it because I think it’s the truth. I think inevitably sometimes players get into a comfort zone where you’re not feeling like your place is under threat, so therefore your performances drop.
“Then of course, you have a few games where you lose a few games like they did earlier in the season, and the confidence drops. And then you’ve got a mixture of both things coming together to create a bad team performance.
“I just felt too many players – there was a little bit of a hangover after last season – inevitably when you miss out on the two big ones [Premier League and Champions League].
“But I thought at the beginning of the season there was a complacency about Liverpool that they’ve not recovered from, because of lack of confidence. And then of course criticism can affect your performance, so I don’t think the midfield is as bad as people think, I think it’s a team thing.
“The amount of goals that Liverpool have conceded are from individual errors at the back.”
No way back for Liverpool loan signing
Meanwhile, Carragher also suggested that Liverpool need a major outlay in their midfield department with James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain out of contract in the summer.
But one player who will not be around next season is current loan signing Arthur Melo.
According to the Daily Express, Klopp has decided not to take up the £33million option to sign the Juventus man after his injury struggles.
The 26-year-old has managed just 13 minutes in the 4-1 defeat at Napoli since completing his switch from Juve.
To that end, it comes as no great surprise that Klopp is willing to send the Brazilian back to Italy.
Liverpool are back in action on Saturday evening when they Wolves in the FA Cup third round.
