Jamie Carragher has expressed his surprise at Liverpool not signing a defensive midfield player this summer and claims it may cause Brendan Rodgers a problem over the coming weeks.
Speaking exclusively to The Liverpool Way podcast, the legendary defender turned Sky Sports pundit admits he is concerned about a lack of natural defensive cover in front of the back four.
“I’m surprised they never tried to get one [a defensive midfielder] in the summer” he explained. “I look at Henderson and Milner as a midfield two and they’ve got great energy and I like both players. I think they’ll both get goals, but neither is that defensive minded and I think that might cause a problem in the coming weeks really.
“And if he wants to go to a holding midfielder then where does Coutinho fit in? Where does Firmino fit in? I think it’s going to be really interesting how Brendan Rodgers sets his side up over the coming months.
In addition to not having signed a holding midfield player, Liverpool are reportedly willing to sell the only natural one they have, with the unsettled Lucas Leiva set to leave the club before the end of the transfer window.
Carragher suggests that a move seems inevitable now as the popular Brazilian is not one to accept not playing regularly, while Liverpool must look to the future with Emre Can. “It’s his decision whether he leaves the club or not, more so than the club’s. I know Lucas well and he doesn’t take too kindly to not playing but I think it’s difficult to find a place for him in the team at the moment.”
Carragher has backed Rodgers’ decision to select Emre Can for the substitutes bench ahead of the more experienced Lucas last weekend, although he is not yet convinced the German is ready to play the defensive midfield position regularly at this point.
“I don’t think Emre Can is ideally suited yet to the holding midfield role” said the 37 year old. “Watching him over the summer for Germany under 21s he’s someone who likes to go forward, powering through midfield.
“I think he would be the better option now though (ahead of Lucas) because if Rodgers is going to play a back four then Can struggled at right back and he’s not suited to playing centre back in a two - although he did really well in a three - but he’s a good young player so you want to keep him involved and keep him happy by giving him games.
“If Liverpool play the same way they did at Stoke then you wonder where he fits in, so he has to be next in line ahead of Lucas because of the age difference and the feeling within the club that he’s a classy player with a big future.”
You can hear more from Carragher - including his thoughts on the Lovren / Sakho debate, why Coutinho needs to play centrally and how he was quietly impressed by Christian Benteke’s debut at Stoke last weekend - by listening to the full interview on the embedded player below, or by subscribing to the TLW podcast here.
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