Carragher Warns Liverpool's Midfield Issue Could Derail Title Challenge
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.
The former Reds defender, speaking on the latest episode of The Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet, believes a familiar flaw has simply been carried into a new era at Anfield.
New era, old problem
The 2026/27 season is just over a week away and Liverpool are already a very different club to the one that lifted the title two years ago. Arne Slot has gone after a disappointing campaign that saw Liverpool limp over the line in fifth, just about salvaging Champions League football. Iraola has stepped in, tasked with restoring intensity and identity.
The overhaul, though, has been more subtle than sweeping.
Victor Munoz and Ronald Araujo have arrived, while Jeremy Jacquet is on his way after a deal with Rennes was agreed back in February. Mohamed Salah has departed, leaving a gaping hole on the right and pushing Liverpool into the market for a winger, with Bradley Barcola still firmly on the radar.
Yet for Carragher, the real storm is brewing elsewhere.
Carragher’s warning shot
“The midfield issue for me is still a huge problem for Liverpool,” Carragher said. He hasn’t trawled through every minute of pre-season, but he chose his evidence carefully: Leeds and Monaco, “decent opposition,” as he put it.
What he saw was worryingly familiar.
“The problem Liverpool had last season was there was space everywhere in Liverpool’s midfield. That has not gone away at all.”
The concern, in his eyes, is baked into the way Iraola seems intent on using his most talented players. Dominik Szoboszlai, who many view as a natural No.10, is being pushed deeper.
“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.”
That sounds exciting on paper. On the pitch, Carragher sees chaos.
Too much talent, not enough balance
He is not questioning the individual quality. Far from it.
“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.”
The issue, he insists, is the blend.
“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.”
Liverpool’s midfield was stretched and exposed too often last season. Iraola’s early tweaks, at least in Carragher’s eyes, risk turning that weakness into a defining trait.
With the Premier League kick-off looming and recruitment still focused on replacing Salah out wide, the former centre-back is blunt about the consequences. Unless the midfield is fixed – in the market or on the training ground – Liverpool’s ambitions may have to be scaled back.
Carragher doesn’t just doubt a title charge. He believes this one problem could stop it before it even starts.
