Chris Sutton doubles down on Liverpool star Arne Slot 'isn't having' and names player 'terrible on the ball'

Chris Sutton believes that Arne Slot is still to decide what his best Liverpool team is.

The Reds have endured a difficult start to their Premier League title defence. Although they won their opening five matches, performances were not convincing and late goals were required in four of the fixtures.

Now Liverpool have entered the international break against the backdrop of three successive losses in all competitions. They conceded in stoppage-time to lose at Crystal Palace and Chelsea, as well as being defeated 1-0 by Galatasaray in the Champions League.

Slot has chopped and changed his Reds starting line-up following a significant squad overhaul in the summer transfer window. The right-back position has been shared by Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong, although midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai has been used as a makeshift option.

Florian Wirtz, signed for £100 million from Bayer Leverkusen, found himself out of the XI at Chelsea as he continues to adapt while centre-back Ibrahima Konate has come in for criticism.

What’s been said

Speaking on the Monday Night Club, former Celtic and Blackburn Rovers striker Sutton discussed the raft of issues that Liverpool head coach Slot faces. He said: “I’m not sure Arne Slot is sure what his best XI is. It’s a bit of a mishmash at right-back. Frimpong, I’ve said before, I don’t think Arne Slot is having Frimpong defensively. Conor Bradley is a good young player, replaced Trent [Alexander-Arnold] at times, maybe he’s not had the best start.

“But then he’s playing Szoboszlai out of position and you’re losing his influence from midfield. [Ryan] Gravenberch had to drop back as a centre-back, needs must, and you’re missing his influence in the midfield.

“Wirtz, let’s get it right, a lot of excitement about him and what they’re buying but it hasn’t quite happened. There are all these things going on at the moment and they’ve still got results but if you’re a Liverpool fan, you’re going to be a bit concerned. Three changes to the back four over the weekend, throughout the game.

“[Milos] Kerkez, I always thought [Andy] Robertson’s boots would be big and tricky to fill but he doesn’t have the same quality going forward. In fairness to Slot, he did say they had issues last season but because they won the league, no one brought them up.

“Konate should be able to adapt better and be able to cope. The other thing with Konate is that he’s been terrible on the ball and that has been an issue. The biggest issue is there are players who aren’t playing well. All players go through stages where they haven’t hit the heights.

It’s legitimate that we talk about Liverpool’s forward players and the players Arne Slot brought it but you wonder if not signing Marc Guehi will come back to bite them in the backside because they don’t have strength in depth and cover in there.”