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Chris Sutton has accused Arne Slot of losing faith with summer signing Milos Kerkez after the Liverpool head coach has opted to start Andy Robertson in each of Liverpool’s last four matches.
Kerkez started all of Liverpool’s opening nine Premier League matches, but was dropped for the 2-0 win over Aston Villa, the Reds’ best league performance of the season so far. Robertson replaced the ex-Bournemouth man in line-up, and also started ahead of him in the recent games against Real Madrid and Manchester City.
After nearly departing Liverpool over the summer, Robertson’s resurgence and improved performance levels are commendable, but Kerkez was hugely underwhelmed since his $53 million transfer.
Sutton, the former Celtic and Blackburn Rovers striker, believes Kerkez is emblematic of the slow start Liverpool’s summer signings have made this season, and was critical of the majority the Reds’ eight senior arrivals in the last transfer window.
“When you spend what Liverpool have spent, bring these new players in and they don't hit the ground running, it's a problem,” Sutton said on BBC Sport’s Monday Night Club.
“Arne Slot hung his hat on Kerkez at the start of the season, Robertson was out in the cold and all of a sudden, I think he has lost faith in Kerkez.
“I find the right-back situation, I have mentioned the signing of [Jermie] Frimpong and been told and educated they have signed a right winger instead.
“Alexander Isak, him sulking around at Newcastle hasn't helped the situation. [Hugo] Ekitike has done all right but is a victim that players around him are struggling for confidence and [Florian] Wirtz hasn't kicked a ball and is really struggling.
“In many respects, I think Liverpool would have been starting [Cody] Gakpo on that right-hand side.
“The way Wirtz is playing, he doesn't seem to have that instinct or connections with players around him.
“He's possibly trying too hard and trying to force things but is hesitant. Maybe he's feeling the price tag and weight of that and [Mohamed] Salah, you had last season with the waiting game of trying to get the contract over the line and it's just a different Mo Salah.
“You put all of those things together and it's been a disastrous start, I don't care what anyone says, to lose more games this season than last season and to leak goals - 26 goals in 18 games when it was 11 in all competitions at the same stage last season - is a massive drop off.
“The goalkeeper, [Giorgi] Mamardashvili has done all right but is he Alisson? No, he's not.”
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