Arne Slot has been urged to make a bold decision regarding his summer signing as the Dutchman was told his new star ‘shouldn’t be near the team’
Arne Slot has been told his summer signing ‘shouldn’t be near the team’
Arne Slot has been urged to drop Jeremie Frimpong for Conor Bradley at right-back.
Frimpong, 24, was signed for £29million in the summer transfer window to replace the outgoing Trent Alexander-Arnold, who wound down his contract to join Real Madrid. But the former Bayer Leverkusen ace is yet to find his feet at Anfield.
The Dutchman’s only start in the Premier League so far this season came in the 4-2 opening day win against Bournemouth, where he completed just 60 minutes. He has since only featured off the bench against Burnley and Crystal Palace.
Despite Frimpong starting both Champions League games and the EFL Cup win against Southampton, Bradley is Slot’s current first-choice option at right-back.
However, the 22-year-old has been replaced at half-time in three of the Reds’ last four Premier League outings, with Slot clearly not set on his right-back options.
Jeremie Frimpong is yet to find his feet at Liverpool(Image: Gerrit van Keulen/Soccrates/Getty Images)
But former Scotland and Liverpool midfielder Don Hutchinson has insisted that Bradley must be allowed to continue at right-back.
Speaking to online-casinos.com, Hutchinson said: “I’d have Bradley starting in the team now.
“I don’t think Frimpong’s current standard gets him anywhere near the first XI for Liverpool.
“I’ve watched every Liverpool match I could so far this season, and in some matches like the Southampton game, he just kept giving the ball away. Simple passes were going stray, and his confidence is just starting to erode.
Arne Slot has been urged to back Conor Bradley(Image: Ed Sykes/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
“He played right wing against Galatasaray, and I think that was Arne Slot experimenting for who steps in for Salah when he’s off at the Africa Cup of Nations. But he struggled then, too.
“I just think you’re looking at a young player who is struggling for form.
“When I watch Liverpool now, I see a team that is so out of sorts that they have to go back to basics.
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“It needs to be Bradley at right-back. On the left, it’s harder to say. I still rate Andy Robertson but seeing him with his hands on his knees at Chelsea as Estevao scored, I’d think he was a League Two player.
“I’d love to know what he was thinking when he was taking a breather then. On the left, toss a coin between Kerkez and Robertson, but Bradley has to be starting on the right.”
Liverpool take on Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday in their first game back from international duty.
