Liverpool spent big on full-backs in the summer of 2025, but the investment hasn't paid off yet, according to one ex-player
Andoni Iraola, manager of Liverpool, gestures as he speaks to the media during his press conference
Andoni Iraola, manager of Liverpool, gestures as he speaks to the media during his press conference(Image: Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
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Andoni Iraola has defended Milos Kerkez's performances and insists he can help the Liverpool left-back improve, after a difficult first season at Anfield.
The Spaniard's comments come after former Reds midfielder Danny Murphy criticised both Kerkez and opposite full-back Jeremie Frimpong, claiming that neither was likely to improve whilst wearing a red shirt.
After winning the Premier League title at a canter in 2025, Liverpool bid farewell to decorated right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold before splashing out approximately £80m on Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen and Bournemouth left-back Kerkez, who had been included in the Premier League's Team of the Season for the 2024/25 campaign.
But both players suffered underwhelming debut seasons at Anfield, with a mixture of injuries and poor form contributing to a below-par season for the Reds that ultimately cost Arne Slot his managerial job, despite the Reds crawling to Champions League qualification with a fifth-place finish in the league table.
Iraola is now at the helm and started both Frimpong and Kerkez in his first two matches before dropping the former down to the bench for the trip to Ipswich Town, where the Reds picked up their first win of the season.
But former Liverpool midfielder Murphy, has identified the two full-backs - who joined the Reds last summer for a combined fee of almost £70m - as a problem area for the new boss. Speaking on talkSPORT, in a conversation that had originally centered around attacking duo Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, he said: "The bigger problem for Liverpool because at times at Anfield, they are going to dominate the ball so much that the press isn't going to be that important.
"The bigger problem is that the full-backs aren't good enough at Liverpool. They are not good enough. They are not going to get better, it is not in them.
"They are 100mph. They are working hard but their level of crossing and choice of final pass is really poor.
"It looks worse for the Liverpool fans when you have been so used to seeing two of the best we've ever seen in Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, in terms of assists, quality and picking the final pass.
"They have brought in two full-backs, who aren't as good. I think they are okay defensively, not brilliant, but they are okay.
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"And going forward, the best teams have really good full-backs on the ball because teams clog up the middle of the pitch, so the space is wide.
"Your full-backs get so much of the ball, and Frimpong and Kerkez just don't have that quality that you need to open up teams."
During his pre-match press conference ahead of the opening Champions League match against Atletico Madrid at Anfield, Iraola was asked by a Hungarian journalist about Kerkez and the criticism he has received.
The Liverpool boss said: "I think Milos played really well the other day [against Ipswich]. I know him very well. I know what he can achieve. He still has a big potential, being very young but also [has] a good amount of experience in the Premier League and also with his national team.
"He's a player that I trust, definitely. He needs to improve a lot of things like all of the others, like I have to improve a lot of things, otherwise there is no bigger ceiling. But I think I am ready to try to help him, first to become a better player, but I think he is in a good line and the other day he played really well for us."
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