'Liverpool got its transfers wrong and two signings don't look up to it'

Former Liverpool defender Glen Johnson has told Liverpool that it “got it wrong” in the summer transfer window with two of its signings.

There is plenty of discussion over Liverpool’s summer business this season, with the club having spent over $500 million on signings, including the record-breaking additions of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz.

Both of those players have struggled to settle in though, with Isak having scored just two goals so far, while Wirtz is still yet to make a goal contribution in the Premier League - although he did go perilously close to breaking that duck when he had a goal cruelly taken from him against Sunderland.

It’s two other signings that have caught some flak from Johnson though, with Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez in his sights.

Both were added during the summer with a view to replace the outgoing Trent Alexander-Arnold and veteran left-back Andy Robertson, but neither have found their feet so far.

Kerkez in particular has come in for some harsh criticism this season, while Frimpong has missed nearly two months of action after picking up a hamstring injury against Eintracht Frankfurt in October.

“Liverpool very rarely get it wrong with transfers, but for me, they got it wrong with the signing of Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez in the summer,” Johnson told BetWright online casino UK.

“I don’t want to be too harsh on new players or write them off, because it does take time for some to settle down at a big club like Liverpool, especially when coming from teams where there’s less pressure. But at the moment, they don’t look up to it.

“It’s strange, because Liverpool usually hit the nail on the head with these types of deals – so many statistics and data goes into their recruitment– but, for now, it looks as if they’ve got those deals wrong.”

Liverpool.com says: There’s no denying that Kerkez and Frimpong haven’t made great starts to life at Liverpool, but to say the club got it wrong by signing them feels a little harsh and perhaps a bit premature.

Kerkez was one of, if the not the best left-back in the Premier League last season, and you’d have been hard-pressed to find anyone who didn’t think he was a great signing during the summer, especially considering how young he still is.

As for Frimpong, you can make an argument for Liverpool not really thinking through his signing, given he didn’t really play as a conventional right-back at Bayer Leverkusen. But given the Reds were losing Alexander-Arnold, it made some sense to go for an attacking option in that position to try and replicate the sort of impact the academy graduate made.

Hopefully both can eventually come good for Liverpool, and the sooner the better amid what has been a disappointing season for everyone so far.

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