Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version or go back to LFC Live.net

Credit: Imago

Chris Smith

Mon 18 August 2025 14:59, UK

Liverpool must ‘address’ their full-back positions following poor Premier League debuts from Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez.

That’s according to the club’s former midfielder, Didi Hamann, who was worried by what he saw from the Reds’ new duo on Friday evening.

Liverpool have spent big this summer to bring in Frimpong and Kerkez, alongside the likes of Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Giovanni Leoni.

And the champions made a winning start to their Premier League title defence, beating Bournemouth 4-2 at Anfield on the opening weekend.

Despite the positive result, there were some worrying defensive signs from Liverpool, who gave up a 2-0 lead thanks to two goals in 12 second-half minutes from Antoine Semenyo.

Thankfully, Federico Chiesa and Mohamed Salah were able to win the match late on, but the two goals conceded will cause further concerns following the defeat to Crystal Palace in the Community Shield a week earlier — which also saw the Reds concede twice.

MORE FOOTBALL INSIDER STORIES

Although both players had been substituted by the time Bournemouth scored, Hamann was unimpressed by the performances of Frimpong and Kerkez in their Premier League debuts for Liverpool.

“I think if you look at the 90 minutes, I think you never felt they were really in control of the game,” the former Germany international told talkSPORT.

“This is something I think where they’ve been really good last season.

It was end-to-end stuff.

“They struggled to create chances over the 90 minutes and also allowed quite a few.

“I think if you don’t control games without the ball, it makes it even harder to control it with the ball.

I think part of it, or the reason was that defensively, they’ve been pretty fragile as they’ve been against Palace.

“Kerkez struggled (in) both games so far.

Frimpong, for all his power going forward, his pace, he’s not a right-back.

“I think this is something they have to address because without Trent (Alexander-Arnold) in the team, I think the dynamics in the team will change.”

Marc Guehi remains on Liverpool’s radar (Credit: Manh Tung, Breaking Media)

Football Insider verdict

Hamann went on to suggest that teams will be bolder against Liverpool now, no longer ‘dropping off’ in fear of an Alexander-Arnold defence-splitting pass.

Of course, given the level of investment Liverpool have made in the full-back positions, there’s effectively no chance they’ll bring another body in this summer — especially with Andy Robertson around and Conor Bradley returning to fitness soon.

Instead, Liverpool’s focus should remain on a new centre-back and further depth up-front.

Liverpool continue to push for Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace, and given their defensive mishaps so far, it’s clear they could use his quality.

Additionally, the Alexander Isak saga is still rolling on, with the Reds unwilling to back down in the face of stubborn Newcastle resistance.

And what if someone like Virgil van Dijk or Ibrahima Konate went down injured?

Undistracted, Liverpool will continue to pursue primary targets Guehi and Isak — until the end of the transfer window, if required.

Related Posts


For more news relating to Newcastle United, visit our sister site NUFC Latest Live.