1 day ago
3
Arne Slot has been urged to keep Jeremie Frimpong away from Liverpool's starting line-up ahead of their clash against Manchester United.
The Reds boss is in desperate need of a victory on Sunday in order to break the three-match losing streak his side are currently on. Many of his stars have yet to showcase their consistent ability but it's the full-back positions that have been a cause for concern for the Dutchman.
He's rotated Frimpong, Conor Bradley and Dominik Szoboszlai in the right-back role with the latter two starting three league games each in the position while the summer signing has had started just one.
That sole start came in Liverpool's opening-day 4-2 victory over Bournemouth while he missed games against Newcastle and Arsenal due to injury, he's failed to impress in the games he's subsequently played.
Whether it be a lack of end product or carelessness on the ball, ex-Liverpool midfielder Don Hutchison told GOAL that Frimpong is miles away from earning a spot in Slot's starting 11.
The ex-Scotland international said: "I’d have Bradley starting in the team now, absolutely. I don’t think Frimpong’s current standard gets him anywhere near the first XI for Liverpool. I’ve watched every Liverpool match I could so far this season, and in some matches like the Southampton game, he just kept giving the ball away.
"Simple passes were going astray, and his confidence is just starting to erode. He played right wing against Galatasaray, and I think that was Arne Slot experimenting for who steps in for Salah when he’s off at the Africa Cup of Nations.
"But he struggled then, too. I just think you’re looking at a young player who is struggling for form. When I watch Liverpool now, I see a team that is so out of sorts that they have to go back to basics. It needs to be Bradley at right-back."
Hutchison had a damning verdict in store for Andy Robertson following his cameo in the 2-1 defeat against Chelsea but said his compatriot is still in for a chance of starting over Milos Kerkez.
"On the left, it’s harder to say," the 54-year-old said. "I still rate Andy Robertson, but seeing him with his hands on his knees at Chelsea as Estevao scored, I’d think he was a League Two player. I’d love to know what he was thinking when he was taking a breather then.
"On the left, toss a coin between Kerkez and Robertson, but Bradley has to be starting on the right." Liverpool's troubles in defence has been a much-talked about topic in the media with ex-Reds skipper Jamie Redknapp admitting the right-back issues are partly due to the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold who left in the summer to sign for Real Madrid.
He said after the defeat at Stamford Bridge: "It's apparent, they're missing Trent [Alexander-Arnold], you look at how they're playing, since the Burnley game they've not played the same right-back, they've gone with Szoboszlai, Frimpong, and Conor Bradley today.
"Conor obviously had a difficult 45 minutes, he gets taken off, it's a problem area for them. Even at left-back, Kerkez looked like he was going to be a fantastic signing, he hasn't adjusted yet, for whatever reason."
English (US) ·