2 days ago
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Jamie Carragher has admitted he has one concern about Alexander Isak following his deadline-day arrival from Newcastle.
The Reds paid a British record $169 million (£125M) to secure Isak's services and end a transfer saga that dominated the window. Having scored 54 goals in 86 Premier League matches, there are no worries about Isak's proficiency in front of goal, but Carragher has revealed he is wary of the player's injury record.
While the 25-year-old played 42 games for Newcastle last season, he missed two spells with a groin issue in the previous campaign and was forced to sit out nearly four months in 2022/23 due to a thigh injury.
Asked whether that is a concern, Carragher replied: "Yeah, I think so. I think it was his first season more than any at Newcastle, where he missed quite a few games that season.
"It's difficult for anybody to replicate what Liverpool had a few years ago. They used to have [Mohamed] Salah, [Roberto] Firmino, and [Sadio] Mane, and they played every game. They never got injured.
"But hopefully, when you look at the injury situation at Liverpool last season, that improved a lot under Arne Slot from what we'd seen before under Jurgen Klopp.
"So hopefully as we're going about things on the training pitch, we'll help Isak in that situation because when you pay that type of money, you want that played on the pitch nine times up to 10."
Liverpool spent roughly $603M (£450M) on transfers this summer, which has inevitably drawn criticism from rival supporters, but Carragher was keen to point out that this is an exception to the rule when it comes to the club's policy in the market.
"I think a lot has been made about how much Liverpool have spent, and rightly so, in this window. But it hasn't been the norm in the past," the ex-defender told Sky Sports.
"I think Liverpool supporters have been frustrated at different times, and it's felt like other teams were splashing the cash and breaking transfer records, and that's what Liverpool have done twice in this window.
"So, yes, it is excited to think that Liverpool are buying such a ready-made, world-class player [in Isak] rather than turning into world-class players. It's just interesting to see now how the manager fits everybody in. Yeah, it's going to be quite a good dilemma."
On that dilemma, Carragher feels it will be the free-scoring Hugo Ekitike that might lose out following Isak's signature.
"I think Mohamed Salah starts on the right wing, I think Isak plays center-forward now, I think Florian Wirtz will play in that No. 10 position," the pundit said when asked what Liverpool's first-choice XI looks like now.
"The left wing is maybe up for grabs a little bit with [Cody] Gakpo, young Rio [Ngumoha], maybe Ekitike can play there as well and also fill in for Isak.
"Maybe, at times, we’ll see a front two employed by the manager because Wirtz can play from the left as well. So I think he’s got a lot more options on the left, and I think we’ll see a lot more rotation in that position than the other front four positions."
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