Jamie Carragher believes a new defender in January will help Liverpool retain the title
In an interview with Daily Mail (h/t Liverpool Echo), Jamie Carragher has said that a new central defender in January will help Liverpool retain the Premier League title.
Liverpool have had an assured start to the season but recurrent injuries continue to give Jurgen Klopp headaches. Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk are tipped to miss the remainder of the season after serious injuries.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho Tavares, Joel Matip, Rhys Williams, and Kostas Tsimikas have all been sidelined for at least one game this season due to being either injured or unfit.
Due to Liverpool’s cursed luck with injuries, Jamie Carragher believes that a centre-back in January will shift the title balance back in Liverpool’s favour.
The ex-England international claims that the injury to Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk has removed Liverpool as the outright favourites to win the title again this season.
“This Liverpool team is about the here and now. Jurgen has built it over four or five years and is ready to win a lot of trophies over the next three or four. The situation with Van Dijk and Joe Gomez is a massive blow. If those two were fit, I’d be very confident of Liverpool winning the league again. It makes it more of an even contest with everyone involved now.”
Carragher also believes that Manchester City would fancy themselves as the favourites for the league title after the ongoing injury issues at Kirkby but signing a defender in January will make the Reds favourites again.
“I think Man City will fancy their chances on the back of those injuries. And Guardiola signing his contract will be a boost. But if Liverpool could sign a good centre half in January, I think they’d still be the team to beat.”
Liverpool have borne the brunt of the congested fixture list due to the truncated Premier League season but so have other clubs. Liverpool’s desperation could also mean other clubs raising the price of their players on the transfer market.
Nevertheless, buying a defender in January makes sense considering the fact that both of our first-choice centre-backs are out for a considerable period. A Michael Edwards ‘masterclass’ in January may prove to be the chemical X to carry us to our first back-to-back league titles in 37 years.
