Jamie Carragher's Concerns for Liverpool's Midfield Ahead of New Season
Jamie Carragher fears Liverpool are heading into the new season with the same old problem – and he doesn’t see them as genuine Premier League title contenders while it remains unsolved.
The Anfield great has zeroed in on the midfield as the glaring weakness in Andoni Iraola’s squad, insisting the structural issues that dogged Liverpool last year are still staring them in the face.
New era, old concern
The 2026/27 campaign is just over a week away and Liverpool are already under a spotlight. Iraola steps into the dugout after Arne Slot’s dismissal earlier in the summer, tasked with lifting a side that limped over the line in fifth place last season, only just clinging to Champions League qualification a year after being crowned champions.
It has not been a blockbuster summer. Victor Munoz and Ronald Araujo are the only fresh arrivals so far, with Jeremy Jacquet also on the way after a deal with Rennes was wrapped up back in February. The club are still hunting a replacement for Mohamed Salah out wide, with Bradley Barcola firmly on the radar.
Carragher, though, is looking elsewhere.
“Space everywhere” in midfield
Speaking on the latest episode of The Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet, the former defender laid out his worries in blunt terms.
“The midfield issue for me is still a huge problem for Liverpool,” he said.
Carragher admitted he hasn’t watched every minute of pre-season, but the two most recent friendlies against stronger opposition – Leeds and Monaco – were enough to set alarm bells ringing.
“The problem Liverpool had last season was there was space everywhere in Liverpool’s midfield. That has not gone away at all.”
The concern deepens with how Iraola appears ready to use Dominik Szoboszlai.
Too many runners, not enough balance?
Szoboszlai, so often seen as a No.10, is being used deeper.
“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 explained.
He admires the individuals. He doesn’t trust the trio.
“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.”
For Carragher, it’s not about star power. It’s about control, protection, and the lack of it when Liverpool lose the ball.
And until Iraola finds an answer in that central area, the club’s former vice-captain believes talk of another title tilt will remain just that.
