Liverpool’s summer outlay this year eclipsed last year’s, with the club pouring more than £200 million into the transfer market. Yet, despite the financial firepower, manager Andoni Iraola ends the window with a roster that raises more questions than it answers. Jamie Carragher summed up the unease on Sky Sports, noting, "It does not look like a balanced squad. Liverpool are short in the full‑back areas and probably a midfield player as well." His assessment comes even after the club splashed out £123 million to secure Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint‑Germain.
Barcola’s arrival highlights the same structural issue: Liverpool have lost the Premier League’s most prolific left‑footed right‑winger in Mohamed Salah and have tried to plug the gap by stacking the opposite flank. Carragher pointed out the deficiency, saying, "Liverpool have not got a real out‑and‑out right‑sided attacker. We have not got anybody with a left foot on that right side, like Mo Salah. I am disappointed.
I am not quite sure what we are going to do on that right wing right now." Barcola is a versatile player, but his hefty price tag suggests he should be deployed in his most effective role – a central or left‑wing position – not as a makeshift right‑winger. So far, Cody Gakpo has occupied the left flank, a spot previously held by Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike at other clubs. Rio Ngumoha, who broke through on the left last season, was also tried on the opposite wing during pre‑season, while Victor Muñoz, signed after a single top‑flight season as a left winger, appears a likely candidate for the right side despite his natural inclination to the left.
These positional puzzles do not, by themselves, condemn Liverpool’s recruitment policy. They are more a curiosity than a catastrophe, but they expose deeper gaps. The squad feels weighted in certain areas while glaringly thin in others. When Jeremie Frimpong arrived last summer, Liverpool stressed that he was not a direct replacement for Trent Alexander‑Arnold at right‑back.
Ironically, the Dutch international has been slotted into that very position in the opening two league games, primarily because Conor Bradley is sidelined with injury. Frimpong is arguably the most naturally suited player for the role at the moment, though some have suggested using Dominik Szoboszlai as a stop‑gap.
Shifting a centre‑back into a full‑back slot is far from ideal, especially given how crucial the full‑backs are in Iraola’s high‑pressing system. The importance of pace on the flanks is evident: both Frimpong and Milos Kerkez rank among the Premier League’s top three sprint performers this season, with only Adrien Truffert – a former Bournemouth player under Iraola – ahead of them. Full‑backs in Iraola’s setup are expected to surge forward, often in tandem, which forces midfielders to cover the vacated spaces.
That tactical demand could become Liverpool’s Achilles’ heel. Ryan Gravenberch was instrumental in helping Arne Slot clinch the Dutch title, but Alexis Mac Allister’s physical decline over the past 18 months raises doubts about whether Liverpool possess a midfielder capable of shielding against rapid counter‑attacks. Iraola’s philosophy at Bournemouth emphasized aggressive pressing and winning the ball high up the pitch, a principle echoed by Tyler Adams, who described the team’s intent to "be very aggressive out of possession." Early signs suggest the midfield balance is indeed fragile. Carragher warned, "I do not believe that midfield can function with the personnel in there.
For me, it does not work. And it is not just about personnel, it is the structure the manager is asking for." In the first Premier League match of the season, Liverpool’s defensive shape collapsed within five minutes. With full‑backs pushing high and centre‑backs sitting deep, a void emerged between the lines, and Newcastle capitalised to score.
As Virgil van Dijk increasingly prefers a deeper defensive stance, the space left by attacking full‑backs becomes even more pronounced, creating a persistent vulnerability. Thus, Iraola inherits the most expensive squad in Liverpool’s history, but also the most conspicuously unbalanced one in a decade. Finding a remedy may require compromises beyond the transfer market. Carragher suggested a tactical recalibration: "You do not want to lose the offensive side, the fluidity, the arrivals with numbers, but obviously we were punished the other day, especially in the first goal.
We did not do a proper lockdown. But there is a balance. We cannot go from one way where we send a lot of people forward to keeping everyone back so we do not arrive with numbers." He added that players must learn to recognise danger and adjust their positioning: "It is a matter of identifying the situation. You cannot be with the joystick every time [controlling] the player.
There are players that are very good at smelling the danger. 'I cannot risk going now. I think I have to stay.' Recognising those situations is the job." For now, a couple of high‑scoring draws may be an appropriate outcome for this Liverpool side. Whether their attacking strengths will outweigh defensive frailties remains to be seen.
The squad is undeniably imperfect and lopsided, yet it also promises an exciting brand of football that could still surprise opponents throughout the campaign.