Steve Nicol believes that Liverpool’s players don’t trust summer signing Milos Kerkez and, at times, even look scared to pass him the ball.
Kerkez looked to be a shrewd acquisition by Liverpool when he was picked up for £40million after catching the eye with his all-action displays at Bournemouth last season.
The Hungarian international, however, has failed to replicate those performances on Merseyside and has been brought off early in a number of games already this season.
Kerkez lasted the full 90 minutes against Manchester United last weekend, but struggled again and was repeatedly targeted by the combination of Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo down Liverpool’s left.
Jamie Redknapp said the 21-year-old looked like a ‘nervous wreck’ at points on Sunday, and former Liverpool full-back Nicol believes Kerkez’s performances are now starting to affect his teammates.
Get personalised updates on Liverpool every day
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
‘The biggest problem I have, and one of the biggest reasons that I think Kerkez shouldn’t start is not just what it’s doing to the back-line and particularly Virgil van Dijk, but the rest of the team don’t trust Kerkez,’ Nicold told ESPN.
‘Kerkez reacts to it by panicking, and then he goes scared, and then he doesn’t want to make a mistake, which is why he keeps turning back and playing an easy ball backwards.
‘But it’s not just Virgil van Dijk – everybody in that team doesn’t want to give him a ball.
‘That is a horrible position for Kekrez, but it’s a position that Arne Slot has to understand is way, way worse for the team than just the fact that Kerkez isn’t having a particularly good time.’
Nicol continued: ‘The fact that Kerkez is affecting the whole team, again, is one of the reasons why you have to get him out, get somebody solid in that everybody trusts and knows what they’re going to get.
‘Because then they are just playing the ball and not thinking about it. Right now, everybody looks up, sees Kerkez, and looks somewhere else. And by that time, it means teams like United or whoever it is can get into a defensive posture quickly.’
Asked who he should replace Kerkez at left-back, Nicol responded: ‘I absolutely would pull Bradley over to that side. I don’t think Andy Robertson right now is ready to start.
‘I would tell Bradley that first and foremost, your job is to defend and back up Gakpo on the left side. I don’t need you running past Gakpo, I don’t need you making runs into the middle of the park, I need you to be solid.
‘And I would bring Frimpong in [on the right side] because he would give everybody a lift. He has an energy that is infectious, and right now Liverpool needs a little spark to get everyone going, and I think Frimpong would do that.
‘Yes, he’s not the greatest defender, but he will give you everything and that energy will absolutely count.’
Liverpool have a hectic schedule in the coming weeks, taking on Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday before a trip to face Brentford on Saturday.
The Reds then face Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, Real Madrid and Manchester City, all also in the next 19 days.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.