Jamie Carragher Critiques Milos Kerkez as Liverpool's Defensive Weakness

Jamie Carragher has torn into Liverpool left-back Milos Kerkez, branding him the “Darwin Núñez of full-backs” after a chaotic start to the season that has piled pressure on Andoni Iraola’s new regime at Anfield.

The 20-year-old has started both of Liverpool’s opening Premier League games, 2-2 draws against Newcastle and Nottingham Forest, and already finds himself at the centre of a storm over the team’s defensive fragility.

Carragher’s brutal verdict

Speaking on The Overlap, Carragher questioned Kerkez’s entire defensive profile, from his decision-making to his composure.

“Their understanding of the game is really, really poor. You’re watching the game and thinking, ‘Why has he done that?’” he said, grouping Kerkez with Liverpool’s other full-back, Jeremie Frimpong, in his criticism.

Carragher then reached for a comparison that will sting on Merseyside.

“I described Kerkez last season – and it was his first season, maybe it was a bit harsh at the time – he’s the Darwin Nunez of full-backs. It’s just like ‘head down and run’, everything Kerkez does is 100 miles an hour.”

For Carragher, the issue isn’t just youthful exuberance. It’s the sense that Liverpool have paid £40 million for a defender who leans on raw pace instead of reading the game, and who hasn’t shown the growth expected after a full campaign in England.

Transfer gamble under the spotlight

That fee, and the context around it, is what really sharpens the debate. Kerkez arrived last year and endured a mixed first season. Yet Liverpool doubled down.

“They've brought in Kerkez for £40million,” Carragher said. “He’s had his first season, it wasn't amazing, but right, you go: ‘OK, Iraola’s come in from Bournemouth, he knows him, he's still our left-back. Andy Robertson moved on, we had another left-back on loan, so we're probably not going to spend another £40million on another. He's our left-back, let him have another year’.”

That logic has left Liverpool exposed. While the club threw huge money at other areas in the summer – £106m on Bradley Barcola, £55m on Jeremy Jacquet and four more signings – the full-back positions were left untouched.

The result? Two games, four goals conceded, and a defensive structure that already looks brittle down both flanks.

Neville ‘stunned’ by Liverpool’s planning

Gary Neville shares Carragher’s alarm. The former Manchester United defender could not understand how Liverpool went through another transfer window without addressing what he sees as obvious weak points.

“The two full-backs, it was quite clear at the start of last season when you watched them for five or six matches, that defensively they weren’t going to be quite at the level to do it,” Neville said.

“I’m stunned. We talk about ‘will Arsenal regret not bringing in a forward’ – will Liverpool regret not bringing in a couple of full-backs?”

Neville’s question cuts to the heart of Liverpool’s early-season story. Iraola has been backed heavily, but not where the team looked most vulnerable. Kerkez and Frimpong have been told, by the club’s actions, that they are the solution. The pitch is telling a different story.

Two games in, two points on the board, and already the debate is raging: did Liverpool spend big in all the wrong places?