Liverpool duo Milos Kerkez and Conor Bradley have struggled this season, and Arne Slot must address their weaknesses in possession. either in January or by internal means.
Liverpool have to address their failure to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace in January as they must take buildup responsibility away from Milos Kerkez and Conor Bradley, Reds expert David Lynch has insisted.
After succumbing to a fourth consecutive loss when they were beaten 2-1 by Manchester United on Sunday, more concerns have been raised about the form of full-backs Kerkez and Bradley.
Both have struggled to deal with the demands of playing out from defence, and in the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool have often found it difficult to get the ball to attackers such as Mohamed Salah at the right moments.
When asked by Sports Mole how Liverpool can address the weaknesses, Lynch argued that adding another player who is comfortable in possession would help, saying: "It's increasingly apparent they needed to sign Guehi desperately because they've lost the progressive passing of not just Trent but Robertson.
"They've got to find some way of solving it before the January window because they're otherwise going to be out of everything if they don't.
"If it was so crucial that they got a passer in at centre-half, I can't believe they didn't go for Guehi earlier and sort that out - it was a real error. Get to January, do something about it. There's no way of working this out completely perfectly [with the current options]."
Guehi is an exceptional ball player, and he could help alleviate the burden on Virgil van Dijk to bring possession out from defence.
Has Arne Slot misused Bradley, Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong?
Alexander-Arnold has been replaced by Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong, but the latter two are at their best when carrying the ball into space, a luxury they are not afforded when asked to participate in buildup.
Kerkez is also at his best in higher areas of the pitch, and while Andrew Robertson was not a specialist progressor at his peak, he was at least able to play forward at an acceptable rate.
While Lynch does not believe Bradley and Kerkez have been as bad as some critics have suggested, he recognised that both are being misused, telling Sports Mole: "A lot of the issues that they're having are not that surprising. A lot of the criticism has been over the top.
"Conor Bradley was already there but if you're going to use him more frequently - Frimpong profiles similarly - and then you also get Kerkez, [you have to understand that you have] carriers as full-backs now rather than progressive passers. That's fine as teams work in different ways, absolutely no problem.
"But how do you get the ball to them? If you are going to give Kerkez the ball in deep areas, you're asking him to make these cute passes which he's never done in his career. You're doing the same to Conor Bradley. How did the coaching staff and recruiters not see that this was an issue?"
Arne Slot has frequently changed his full-backs in games, and while some of his alterations can be attributed to the fact Bradley and Kerkez have picked up five yellow cards combined, it does highlight his frustration with the pair's performances.
How to cope until the January window: Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones
If Slot is to compete for the Premier League title this season, he will almost certainly need to adapt his system, which could benefit Kerkez and Bradley.
Midfielder Curtis Jones is comfortable with the ball in all areas of the pitch - no player has a higher pass completion percentage (90.5%) in the Liverpool squad - and perhaps he could drop into the backline to aid progression.
Lynch also suggested that Dominik Szoboszlai's progressive qualities may be needed at right-back this season, when he told Sports Mole: "I wouldn't mind seeing Curtis Jones in the team more, or if you're going to keep playing Mac Allister, drop him in deeper.
"[But] they probably have to [move Szoboszlai deeper] if they're going to keep pushing both number eights up. You would have to drop Szoboszlai into right-back because you've got nobody who can progress the ball other than punting it up the pitch from Konate and hoping you win second balls.
"They've got to do something - maybe that is dropping one of the midfielders in to give more passing options to the defenders and make it easier for them. Maybe they have to drop Szoboszlai into right-back on a permanent basis, but that comes back to getting something terribly wrong in the summer."
Szoboszlai has been used in the backline against the likes of Arsenal, Newcastle United and Chelsea, though Jones has often been benched in favour of Alexis Mac Allister despite the latter's poor form.
> Click here to listen to the full discussion on Liverpool's Milos Kerkez and Conor Bradley problems
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Lewis Nolan