Liverpool’s transfer activity this summer has surprised many observers, as the club actually out‑spent itself compared with the previous window, pouring more than £200 million into the squad. Yet, despite the financial outlay, new manager Andoni Iraola is left with a roster that raises more questions than answers. Jamie Carragher summed up the unease on Sky Sports, noting that “the squad does not look balanced.
Liverpool are short in the full‑back positions and probably a midfield player as well.” This criticism rings especially loud after the club splashed £123 million on Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint‑Germain, a signing that, while impressive on paper, does little to resolve the underlying structural issues. One of the most glaring imbalances stems from Liverpool’s loss of Mohamed Salah, arguably the best left‑footed right‑winger the Premier League has ever seen. In response, the Reds have stocked the opposite side of the pitch with players who are not natural right‑wingers. Carragher highlighted the problem, saying, “Liverpool have not got a real out‑and‑out right‑sided attacker.
We have no left‑footed player on the right like Mo Salah. I’m disappointed and I’m not sure what we will do on that wing at the moment.” Barcola is a versatile attacker, but the size of his fee suggests he will be used in his preferred position – on the left. Deploying him on the right would be a stretch. Meanwhile, Cody Gakpo has been playing on the left flank, a role previously filled by Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike at other clubs.
Young prospect Rio Ngumoha, who broke through on the left last season, has already been tried on the opposite wing in pre‑season, while Victor Muñoz, signed after a single top‑flight season as a left winger, also appears a candidate for the right side. These positional experiments are not, by themselves, a disaster. They simply illustrate a recruitment strategy that has loaded certain areas – especially the attacking flanks – while leaving gaps elsewhere. Fans worry that the squad feels “heavy” in some zones and “thin” in others, a classic case of imbalance.
When Jeremie Frimpong arrived last summer, Liverpool made it clear that he was not intended to be a direct replacement for Trent Alexander‑Arnold at right‑back. Yet, in the first two league matches of the new campaign, Frimpong has been deployed in that very role, largely because Conor Bradley is sidelined with injury. The club has also considered using Dominik Szoboszlai on the right, but that would be a compromise, shifting a central midfielder into a full‑back slot – a move that runs counter to Iraola’s system, which relies heavily on the dynamism of its wide defenders.
Data supports the importance of full‑back intensity in Iraola’s approach. Both Frimpong and Milos Kerkez rank among the Premier League’s top three players for sprints per game, trailing only Adrien Truffert of Bournemouth – Iraola’s former club. The high‑tempo, high‑positioning style of the full‑backs forces midfielders to cover large spaces when the back line pushes forward. That tactical demand exposes a potential weakness.
In Liverpool’s title‑winning season under Arne Slot, the full‑backs bombed forward in tandem, creating overloads that the midfield could afford to leave behind. This season, however, the midfield lacks a true holding presence.
Ryan Gravenberch, who was instrumental for Slot, is now paired with an Alexis Mac Allister whose physicality has waned over the past 18 months. Without a robust, defensively disciplined midfielder, Liverpool risk being vulnerable to counter‑attacks when the full‑backs are caught high up the pitch. Carragher voiced this concern explicitly: “I do not believe that midfield can function with the personnel in there.
It does not work, and it is not just about the players, it is the structure the manager is asking for.” The problem manifested early in the season when, within five minutes of the opening Premier League game, Liverpool’s defensive shape was exposed. With the full‑backs advanced and the centre‑backs sitting deep, there was a void between the lines that Newcastle exploited to score. Virgil van Dijk’s tendency to sit deeper, combined with the full‑backs’ attacking instincts, creates a persistent gap that is unlikely to disappear without tactical adjustment. Iraola now faces the paradox of having assembled the most expensive Liverpool squad in history, yet one that appears the most structurally flawed in a decade.
Finding a remedy may not involve a further transfer window. Instead, compromises in tactical execution are required. Carragher suggested a balanced approach: “You do not want to lose the offensive fluidity, the numbers in attack, but we were punished, especially for the first goal. We did not lock down properly.
There is a balance. We cannot just send everyone forward all the time or keep everyone back.” He added that players need to develop an instinct for when to stay and when to surge forward: “You cannot be controlling the joystick all the time.
Some players are very good at smelling danger. Recognising those situations is the job.” For now, Liverpool may settle for a series of high‑scoring draws as they iron out these contradictions. Whether their attacking strengths will outweigh the defensive frailties remains to be seen.
The squad is undeniably exciting, but it is also unmistakably imperfect and, at present, unbalanced. The season ahead will test whether Iraola can fine‑tune his roster to compete at the highest level without compromising the very principles that made Liverpool a modern powerhouse.