Jamie Carragher sides with Man United legend and says Liverpool have a £100m ‘problem’
Liverpool underdelivered last season, there's no two ways about it.
Finishing fifth just a year after winning the Premier League title is a massive fall from grace and it's certainly something that shouldn't have happened.
However, it did and, even though Fenway Sports Group tried to solve the issue by sacking Arne Slot and bringing Andoni Iraola in, it's unclear whether this move and the transfers that the club have made so far will be enough to get them back to the top.
Obviously, there are still a couple of weeks left in the transfer window for more deals to be made but, with the Reds' opening Premier League game against Newcastle just over a week away, things are looking a bit sketchy in L4.
This is far from ideal, especially since Liverpool's fanbase expect them to get back to the top in double-quick time.
Jamie Carragher and Paul Scholes believe Florian Wirtz is a 'problem' for Liverpool
Last summer, Richard Hughes spent an obscene amount of money on new players for Liverpool.
Over £240 million was spent on Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz alone with the duo expected to completely transform the Anfield outfit.
However, thanks to the sheer number of injuries suffered by Isak and the lack of adaptability that Wirtz showed, that was far from the case.
This led fans to question whether it was even worth Liverpool spending all that money on them in the first place and now, Jamie Carragher and Paul Scholes has admitted that they think that Wirtz could end up being a £100 million "problem" for Liverpool.
"Wirtz cost £100 million. It looks like they're trying to build a combination," Carragher said on the Overlap's Fan Debate show.
"I've always thought, going forward, you can't put a £100 million player on the bench, or you've certainly got to give him as much opportunity as you can.
"I've always had this feeling Wirtz would end up on the left.
"Now, if they get Barcola that's not going to happen, but I've always had in my head Wirtz plays on the left for Germany.
"He's not a left winger, but he's just in that area. He's in that pocket, if you like."
To which Scholes replied: "He feels like, I know it's £100 million, but he feels like a bit of a problem.
"So, agree, it could end up Mac Allister as your passer, then Gravenberch, Szoboszlai then I'm thinking 'Jesus Christ, I wouldn't mind playing against that.'
Carragher then added : "Yeah. I struggle to see how that midfield three, who are all individually really good players, is a midfield three that gets Liverpool back to competing for the title."
Liverpool must figure out how to get the balance right in their midfield
Individually, Liverpool have some of the best midfielders in the world among their ranks.
Wirtz, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch are some of the most well-known central midfielders in the world and, on their day, they could easily be seen as some of the best.
However, among the Reds' ranks at the moment, their main problem is that they don't have a natural number six.
Indeed, Gravenberch was used there by Slot and, while he did well during the 2024-25 season, he massively underdelivered in their most recent campaign.
He barely made any progressive passes and, when faced with a duel against an opponent, he was often the one to come off worse.
Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Wirtz and Gravenberch are all attack-minded players and, while they can all put in a shift defensively if needed, that doesn't always happen.
So, if Liverpool aren't signing a new number six this summer, Iraola is going to have a huge task on his hands trying to get the balance right.
There are obviously ways and means to get around everything but, at the moment, it's unclear what Iraola's starting XI will look like against Newcastle on 23 August which is rather worrying.
