Carragher Warns Liverpool's Midfield Is a Problem Ahead of New Season
Jamie Carragher has sounded the alarm over Liverpool’s midfield, warning that Andoni Iraola’s new-look side is nowhere near ready to mount a serious Premier League title challenge.
With the 2026/27 season just over a week away, Liverpool are still trying to shake off the hangover of a disappointing campaign. Arne Slot’s reign ended with a flat stumble over the line into fifth place and a Champions League spot secured more by relief than authority, a stark contrast to the title win only a year earlier.
Now Iraola steps into the dugout, charged with restoring edge and identity. The club has kept a relatively low profile in the transfer market. Victor Munoz and Ronald Araujo have arrived, while Jeremy Jacquet is set to join after a deal with Rennes was wrapped up back in February. Liverpool are still chasing a replacement for Mohamed Salah out wide, with Bradley Barcola a leading target.
Carragher, though, is looking elsewhere. The former defender sees a different fault line running through this squad.
“Space everywhere” in midfield
Speaking on the latest episode of The Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet, Carragher did not sugar-coat his assessment of the middle of the pitch.
“The midfield issue for me is still a huge problem for Liverpool,” he said.
He has dipped into pre-season, and what he’s seen has only hardened his view.
“I haven’t watched all the pre-season games, but I watched the last two against decent opposition - it was Leeds and then Monaco. And the problem Liverpool had last season was there was space everywhere in Liverpool’s midfield. That has not gone away at all.”
The concern is not about the calibre of individuals. It is about the chemistry, the balance, the distances between them when the ball is lost.
Too many runners, not enough control?
Under Iraola, Dominik Szoboszlai looks set to be used deeper than many expected.
“That’s only going to get bigger with the deployment of [Dominik] Szoboszlai in midfield - it looks like they’re going to play him, rather than as a number 10, almost as a central midfield player alongside [Ryan] Gravenberch and that is just pure box-to-box.”
Carragher sees a trio loaded with talent but light on discipline.
“I look at that midfield three and I worry about Liverpool. When you name six or seven of Liverpool’s players, you can’t say they’re not top players - you can’t say Gravenberch is not a really good player, or [Florian] Wirtz, or Szoboszlai.
“But as a midfield three, I look at that and think, oh no - there’s almost too much quality, but they all want to go and play and run. And even in pre-season, the space is coming through the middle.”
The picture he paints is of a side that can thrill going forward but gets ripped open too easily when attacks break down. For a team with title ambitions, that is fatal.
Carragher’s verdict is blunt: unless Liverpool fix the heart of their team, the Premier League trophy will stay out of reach this season.
