Jamie Carragher has criticised how Florian Wirtz fits into Andoni Iraola's Liverpool system and warned that last summer's £455m spending spree could set them back years. The former Reds centre-back also believes his old club need another midfielder with the physical presence to partner Ryan Gravenberch.
Carragher's concerns over Wirtz's role
Speaking to Sky Sports, Carragher said: "Liverpool need someone alongside Gravenberch. It doesn't necessarily need to be a player who can't get on the ball and he's just tackling and stopping players. If you play for one of the top teams in the world, you need to be able to get hold of the ball."
He added: "But I want someone who can run. Szoboszlai has to go to the No.10. I've always seen this coming. When people are saying [Wirtz] has got to go to No.10, that means Szoboszlai's got to be in the team and he's not a central midfield player."
"I thought this would come up in six weeks, I think it's coming up right now. I don't see where he fits in at all, really. What's Iraola going to do with Wirtz? You can't keep going with it; it's not working," Carragher continued.
Defensive woes and transfer spending
Carragher highlighted Liverpool's defensive issues, noting: "It didn't work last season. Liverpool last season conceded 78 goals, 53 in the Premier League, the most they've ever conceded in the Premier League. And all of a sudden it's all about buying wingers?"
He questioned Wirtz's value, saying: "I don't think we're seeing a massive underperformance. I think what we've seen for a year is probably what he is, which is a neat and tidy footballer. Not a player who should be worth £110m, someone who probably should be £50m-£60m, something like that. Neat and tidy, lovely touch. I'm not sure what people are expecting."
Liverpool spent £455m last summer on high-profile arrivals including Wirtz, Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike, Giovanni Leoni, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong. Carragher voiced fears about the long-term impact of that spending spree.
Fear of a setback
He said: "My fear of watching Liverpool yesterday [Sunday], and it's the first game of the season, is this window of 12 months ago could set Liverpool back a year or two to fix it."
Carragher also referenced comments from fellow pundit Gary Neville, saying: "Don't forget last season it was not about these players. You [pointing to Gary Neville] said on the [Gary Neville] podcast yesterday that these players have got off lightly and you're right because it was all about Arne Slot and his style of play and he's not like Jurgen Klopp and he's holding these players back."
He concluded: "Yes it's one game with Iraola, but we're talking 12 months of underperformance from all of these players except him [Ekitike]. If this doesn't change in the next two or three months under Iraola and these players improving, I think we're going to be looking at that as arguably the worst transfer window we've probably seen in Premier League history when you consider the fees for these players and what they were going to do for Liverpool."
