Carragher Critiques Liverpool's Milos Kerkez as Full-Back Weakness
Jamie Carragher has torn into Liverpool left-back Milos Kerkez, branding him the “Darwin Nunez of full-backs” after a chaotic start to the season that has thrown the club’s summer planning under the microscope.
The 20-year-old has started both of Liverpool’s opening Premier League games under Andoni Iraola, with the Reds stumbling to back-to-back 2-2 draws against Newcastle and Nottingham Forest. Two points from six, four goals conceded, and a growing sense that the full-back positions are a glaring weak spot.
Carragher: “Head down and run”
Carragher, speaking on The Overlap, did not bother with diplomacy when assessing Kerkez’s game intelligence and decision-making.
“Their understanding of the game is really, really poor. You’re watching the game and thinking, ‘Why has he done that?’”
he said, lumping Kerkez in with Liverpool’s other young full-back, Jeremie Frimpong, as part of a wider structural problem.
He then reached for a comparison that will sting on Merseyside.
“I described Kerkez last season – and it was his first season, maybe it was a bit harsh at the time – he's the Darwin Nunez of full-backs. It's just like ‘head down and run’, everything Kerkez does is 100 miles an hour.”
Carragher’s criticism cut at the heart of Liverpool’s £40 million investment. In his view, Kerkez leans too heavily on raw pace and aggression, with little of the composure and positional nous required at the top level.
The left-back gamble
Liverpool allowed Andy Robertson to move on and saw another left-back depart after a loan spell. They then doubled down on Kerkez as the long-term solution.
“They've brought in Kerkez for £40million,”
Carragher continued. “He’s had his first season, it wasn't amazing, but right, you go: ‘OK, Iraola’s come in from Bournemouth, he knows him, he's still our left-back. Andy Robertson moved on, we had another left-back on loan, so we're probably not going to spend another £40million on another. He's our left-back, let him have another year’.”
That logic, though, has left Liverpool exposed. Kerkez and Frimpong have both been hammered for their defensive frailties in the opening weeks, with opponents repeatedly targeting the flanks. The sense of chaos that Carragher describes has been visible on the pitch.
Big spending, wrong areas?
What really fuels the debate is where Liverpool chose to spend. The club poured money into other parts of the squad, landing Bradley Barcola for £106m and Jeremy Jacquet for £55m, along with four further signings. The full-back positions, despite last season’s warning signs, went untouched.
Gary Neville admitted he cannot understand that strategy.
“The two full-backs, it was quite clear at the start of last season when you watched them for five or six matches, that defensively they weren’t going to be quite at the level to do it,”
Neville said.
He drew a parallel with another title contender’s dilemma.
“I'm stunned. We talk about ‘will Arsenal regret not bringing in a forward’ – will Liverpool regret not bringing in a couple of full-backs?”
Two games into Iraola’s reign, the question already feels less theoretical and more urgent.
