Gary Neville accuses Liverpool of ‘leaving Andoni Iraola short’ with ‘bizarre’ recruitment: Pundit sends warning to Reds boss as he hits out at failure to sign full-backs and criticises decision to sell Cody Gakpo

Gary Neville has accused Liverpool of leaving Andoni Iraola with an uncompetitive squad due to their ‘bizarre’ transfer dealings this summer. 

The pundit is flabbergasted to see the Reds potentially selling Cody Gakpo to rivals Manchester City for £85million.

And he cannot believe they have failed to sign a full back and a holding midfielder – a shortcoming which will see them ‘concede a lot,’ according to Neville.

Liverpool have had to settle for two 2-2 draws against Newcastle and Nottingham Forest to start the season and look vulnerable whenever the opposition attack. 

Neville said on his podcast: ‘It’s bizarre. The noise that Gakpo might leave – I know that Barcola might come in – but he looks like their best forward. I think he’s a real danger. 

‘Someone like him can maybe not be appreciated at times. He’s always involved and you should never underestimate a player [like him]. There’s a lot of scruffy things he does but he always keeps coming back, he always wants the ball and he’s always there. He does contribute with goals and with assists, maybe not at a massive level, but it’s hard to replace lads like him. 

He does not trust the defensive credentials of Milos Kerkez (above) and Jeremie Frimpong

‘When your main opponents are looking to take him off you, I always think that is a bit of a worry and I don’t think they can afford to lose him.

‘But what’s the most bizarre is that they haven’t signed a full-back, left back and a right back. [Milos] Kerkez and [Jeremie] Frimpong look like the ideal wing-backs in a back five. It looks like a squad that could play a back three.

‘If they’re going to play a back four, and Kerkez and Frimpong are going to play full-back, and they’re not going to sign a holding midfielder, Liverpool are going to concede a lot of goals.

‘With the two goals against Forest, the right back is nowhere to be seen on the first one and on the second one, he lets the runner go from a throw-in when he should just mark him and go with him all the way. He’s not got a natural instinct of how to defend.

‘We used to criticise Trent Alexander-Arnold for his defensive work. To put this into context, TAA is a lot better defender than Frimpong, and he used to contribute 15-20 assists in a season. I don’t think Frimpong will. 

‘Kerkez doesn’t look like he’s settled. At one point last season I thought he looked like an academy player playing at left-back for Liverpool and he’s not – he’s a very good player but they can’t play with those two at full back and expect not to concede goals.

‘I’m not sure what’s going on there in respect of their recruitment. I don’t think they have the numbers in defence. I think they’re leaving Andoni Iraola well short. I know he looks like a gentleman and you see him in the interviews but if I was him I’d be demanding something in the next 48 hours because it will cost him.

‘They will concede a lot of goals if those two play at full back in a normal traditional back four with that midfield.

He cannot comprehend the prospect of them selling Cody Gakpo to Manchester City for £85m

Neville says that Iraola should be ‘demanding’ more signings from Liverpool’s hierarchy

‘There’s real excitement with the players they’ve got up top and if they added a defensive midfield player, and two good full backs, they’d have a really good chance.

‘But they’re being undermined by a lack of recruitment in those full back areas and in central midfield. They need to do something.’

Liverpool have at least addressed their shortage at centre-back, bringing in Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes for £60m and Ronald Araujo on loan from Barcelona.

Up top, Bradley Barcola is poised to sign from Paris Saint-Germain for £123m, and they have already added Victor Munoz, who scored his first goal against Forest, for £34m from Osasuna. 

But the Reds have never truly replaced Fabinho in the No 6 role.

They do have Conor Bradley and Kostas Tsimikas as back-ups in the full-back areas, but they are not known for being overly defensive either.