04 January 2023 , 21:23
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Danny Murphy doesn't think Liverpool's major problem lies in the midfield department - contrary to Jamie Carragher's view that the Reds must strengthen in the position.
The former England ace believes that Liverpool's inconsistency is instead a result of 'lack of confidence' and 'individual errors', with Jurgen Klopp's side sitting sixth in the Premier League table. Liverpool slipped to a damaging 3-1 defeat against Brentford on Monday night to leave them seven points off the top four.
There has been some talk about the positions that Liverpool should prioritise for their January business, having already completed the signing of forward Cody Gakpo from PSV. The 23-year-old has joined the Reds in a deal worth around £45million to bolster the Reds' attack after injuries to Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota.
Following the defeat at Brentford, Carragher urged Jurgen Klopp to prioritise a midfielder next as many see that area as the biggest issue at Anfield right now. However, Murphy has come to the defence of the Reds midfielders after Carragher suggested Liverpool need to sign a 'Georginio Wijnaldum type' player.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Murphy said: "I've said it before, and I don’t mind repeating it because I think it's the truth. I think inevitably sometimes players get into a comfort zone where you’re not feeling like your place is under threat, so therefore your performances drop.
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"Then of course, you have a few games where you lose a few games like they did earlier in the season, and the confidence drops. And then you’ve got a mixture of both things coming together to create a bad team performance.
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Liverpool were below-par against Brentford (Getty Images)"I just felt too many players – there was a little bit of a hangover after last season – inevitably when you miss out on the two big ones [Premier League and Champions League].
"But I thought at the beginning of the season there was a complacency about Liverpool that they’ve not recovered from, because of lack of confidence. And then of course criticism can affect your performance, so I don’t think the midfield is as bad as people think, I think it’s a team thing. The amount of goals that Liverpool have conceded are from individual errors at the back."
Meanwhile, Carragher also suggested that Liverpool need a major outlay in their midfield department with James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain out of contract in the summer.
Jamie Carragher ripped into Liverpool's midfield following the defeat at Brentford (Football Daily)He told Sky Sports: "I'm not saying that in terms of that’s the secret to success - there’s lots of teams who have shown that doesn’t necessarily work - but Liverpool need to sign maybe three midfield players, I would say. Not necessarily all to play, but Keita, Oxlade-Chamberlain, even James Milner, they’re all out of contract.
"The age of Thiago who is injured quite a lot, Henderson, Fabinho, I think Liverpool need three midfield players and when you’re talking about real quality you need at least £40-50 million on those types of players, I would imagine."