Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool would be “almost certain” to win the Premier League this season if they strengthened a position they are “crying out for.”
Despite their 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night and Arsenal‘s 2-1 victory over Tottenham the day after, Liverpool remain comfortable at the top of the table.
Four points clear of Arsenal and six above Forest with a game in hand, Arne Slot‘s side are in control at this stage of the campaign.
However, after back-to-back draws and four in their last six in the league, there are signs that Liverpool could be reaching a difficult stage at this timely juncture.
And with the transfer window well underway, Carragher has insisted the addition of a new left-sided defender would make winning the title “almost certain.”
“Liverpool haven’t got a player that every other club has: a left-sided defender who can play centre-back or left-back,” he explained on the Stick to Football podcast.
“So Arsenal have got Calafiori, even United have got Martinez, Chelsea have got Colwill, City have got Nathan Ake and Gvardiol, even Tottenham have got Van de Ven who could do a little bit of left-back.
“Liverpool need a left-sided defender, who can sort of do a little bit of both; stature, presence and just a bit more power.
“I think if Liverpool sign that player in January – I haven’t got any names, nothing’s been linked, but it’s crying out for that – I’d be almost certain that they’d win the league.”
Arguably Liverpool’s equivalent of a player like Riccardo Calafiori, Levi Colwill or Nathan Ake would be Joe Gomez, who is a natural centre-back but has filled in at both right-back and left-back.
But Gomez is not a natural left-sider, with Virgil van Dijk the only specialist on that side – and the captain is certainly not moving over to left-back.
It is a convincing argument, and The Athletic’s Jon Mackenzie has suggested Slot’s former Feyenoord defender David Hancko as a “sticking plaster solution” for that role in a recent edition of Sensible Transfers.
Meanwhile, the i Paper have claimed contact with the representatives of Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez, while Wolves‘ Rayan Ait-Nouri is seen as the alternative.
Liverpool’s issue on the left-hand side comes with Andy Robertson struggling for form this season, with a growing number of supporters now calling for Kostas Tsimikas to take over as first choice.
As it stands there is no indication that the club will be active in the January window, which makes the likelihood of a new arrival in defence slim.
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