‘Not having it’ - Ben Foster expresses Liverpool concern and it’s not in midfield

Ben Foster has claimed that he is ‘not happy’ with Liverpool’s front three - despite their desperate need for a defensive midfielder.

The Reds raised the curtain to their 2023-24 season with a 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last weekend. Jurgen Klopp’s side may have felt slightly fortunate to have come away with a point after being dominated in the second half. Klopp was forced to deploy Alexis Mac Allister as the anchor in the engine room following the sales of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho. A replacement still to be found after Moises Caicedo joined Chelsea for £115 million and Southampton’s Romeo Lavia appears to be heading the same way.

In the opening 30 minutes of the opening-day encounter, Liverpool in the ascendency, with Luis Diaz opening the scoring and Mo Salah having a goal ruled out for drifting narrowly offside following a VAR review.

And despite having Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez as options, Foster still has some concerns - particularly with the latter.

Speaking on the Ben Foster Podcast, the former Manchester United and Watford goalkeeper said: “I liked Chelsea more than Liverpool. I thought Chelsea were OK, they might get in the top four. Liverpool, I’m just still not happy with their front three.

“I’m not happy with Darwin, I’m not happy with Gakpo - I’m not having it. When Nunez came on when he had that [bad] touch. If he’d have taken a good touch and got the shot off, it’s a goalscoring opportunity. If that’s [Sadio] Mane or [Roberto] Firmino, it gets controlled and dispatched.”

Foster was impressed with the performance of fellow keeper Alisson Becker, however. The Liverpool No.1 made several good saves while he forced Chelsea forward Mykhailo Mudryk wide when he broke free on goal in stoppage time. Foster added: “His positioning was fantastic. He pulled him out wide, didn’t sell himself, stayed up for as long as he possilbly could. By the time he’s pushed out wide, he tried to cut it back and got clear - love it Alisson.”