Four months into Andoni Iraola's tenure as Liverpool head coach, two squad members stand out as needing to raise their level for the good of both the team and themselves, according to the Liverpool Echo's writers.
The Basque coach replaced Arne Slot at the start of the summer, and while a number of players have profited from the change in the dugout, some have yet to produce their best under the new regime.
Kerkez urged to rediscover Bournemouth form
Chief Liverpool FC Correspondent Ian Doyle identifies Milos Kerkez as one player who would benefit from rediscovering the form that secured his move to Anfield. That form came while working with Iraola at Bournemouth, and there has been a slight sense of disappointment that the coach has not yet been able to get a consistent tune out of the Hungary international.
Kerkez has been a regular in a rearguard that has been reasonably stingy in the Premier League, and defensively he has been more assured than at this time last year. However, with question marks starting to be raised over the long-term future of the left-back position, the constant chopping and changing on the left wing ahead of him has impacted his ability to form a strong on-field partnership with his fellow wide man.
With Kostas Tsimikas similarly up and down, there is an opportunity for Kerkez to nail down the role and dampen talk of change at left-back. Doyle suggests this could also prove a catalyst for Bradley Barcola, the £123million summer signing who has yet to fully ignite since arriving from Paris Saint-Germain.
Barcola needs to add goals
Liverpool Content Editor Mark Jones argues that while Iraola has made Liverpool a tougher team to beat, the Reds now need to show more in attack. Alexander Isak is doing his job of putting the ball in the back of the net, scoring eight times this season, but he needs help from those around him to create chances, and Liverpool could do with a reliable secondary source of goals emerging.
In the Premier League, where Isak has scored seven of his eight strikes, Liverpool's second top scorer is Victor Munoz with two, followed by Cody Gakpo, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Florian Wirtz, who all have one each.
Barcola is notable by his absence from that list. His only Liverpool goals so far were a hat-trick at LASK in the Champions League, and if the Frenchman can kick on in the winter months then Iraola's team are sure to feel the benefit. The assists are beginning to come for the former PSG man, who showed his speed to burst down the right before setting up Isak against Brighton and Wirtz against Crystal Palace.
Barcola scored 21 times for PSG in the 2024/25 season, and anything less than double figures in his first Liverpool campaign will be a disappointment. The trip to Austria was seven games ago, and Barcola could do with getting back on the goal trail soon.
