Liverpool told to drop ‘wonderful’ player vs Man Utd as strong Florian Wirtz message sent

Liverpool will host Manchester United on Sunday with head coach Arne Slot facing selection headaches of different kind in defence and in midfield

Liverpool boss Arne Slot could be facing a defensive crisis ahead of Sunday’s big clash with Manchester United – with two key players potentially missing from his back five. The Reds will be without their star goalkeeper Alisson Becker for the Anfield showdown after he picked up a hamstring injury in the 1-0 Champions League defeat at Galatasaray.

Adding to Slot’s woes is the uncertainty surrounding Ibrahima Konate, who suffered a thigh injury in the 2-1 Premier League loss at Chelsea before the international break. Despite joining the France squad, the defender played no part in their first match and returned to Merseyside early.

With Giovanni Leoni already sidelined long term, this leaves Liverpool potentially down to just two fit senior centre-backs for the showdown against United – captain Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez.

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However, it’s not all doom and gloom for Slot, as his midfield options are looking healthier, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Ryan Gravenberch, who was substituted at half-time in the Netherlands’ 4-0 victory over Finland, is expected to be fit for the weekend. His withdrawal was understood to be precautionary measure.

Gravenberch’s fellow midfielders Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai also enjoyed successful international breaks. Mac Allister bagged a brace in Argentina’s 6-0 thrashing of Puerto Rico, while Szoboszlai scored a last-minute equaliser for Hungary against Portugal.

Mac Allister, who had a stellar season last year, helping the Reds clinch the Premier League title, admitted that his recent performance for Argentina was a much-needed confidence boost. He said: “Scoring goals helps; it gives you confidence.

“Especially at a time when, personally, the season hasn’t started in the best way. This helps to continue building confidence.”

In Slot’s debut campaign as manager, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai and Gravenberch were his preferred midfield trio, and they were named in his starting line-up for the gut-wrenching defeat to Chelsea.

However, with £116m summer recruit Florian Wirtz showing promise off the bench at Stamford Bridge, following his own challenging start to the season, Slot has some serious thinking to do ahead of their match against Man United.

Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy, however, believes Mac Allister should be the one to step aside.

“I would say at the moment, I would go with Szobozslai and Gravenberch in the middle,” suggested Murphy, who netted 44 goals and provided 41 assists in249 appearances over seven seasons at Anfield.

“Two super athletic players who can cover lots of ground. And I’d put Wirtz ahead of them.

“Szobozslai can go towards the right and help the full-back defend when Mohamed Salah stays high because obviously he’s been given the license to not defend. That was pretty evident in the Chelsea game although I do feel he could have defended a bit more. I think the athleticism of those two is what Liverpool needs”.

“It’s not that I’m not a fan of Mac Allister, I think he’s a wonderful player. Curtis Jones is terrific as well. But Mac Allister missing pre-season has affected him. He’s taking his time.

“You can see physically he’s not at the same level as he was last season and it’s inevitable when you’ve missed pre-season. It’s really tough to get that back.

“That would be my three at the moment. I’d let Wirtz play through it because I think the magic will come.

“I would have Szobozslai and Gravenberch behind him because they’re the two most athletic midfielders that we’ve got.”

Wirtz has yet to score or create a goal since signing for Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen for what, at that point, had the potential to be a British transfer record.

That has led to much debate over the Germany international’s performances.

But Murphy, a key member of the Gerard Houllier’s treble-winning team in 2001, believes the scrutiny has gone over the top.

“When I was a midfielder, I used to look at whether I was making chances for others,” said the ex-England international the Wettbasis.com. “If you’re doing that, you can’t control who converts them.

“The narrative has gone against Wirtz because the numbers which we’re obsessed with in this day and age aren’t helping him. I don’t see a long term issue with it.

“There is a small adaptation when you play a more creative player as a 10 rather than an athletic one like Szoboszlai. The biggest problem is when you don’t have the ball because Szoboszlai is pretty exceptional and unique with his ability to close down and get around the pitch. There’s not many like him.

“Long term we’ll benefit from having a more creative force in that role, especially when you’re playing low blocks and need moments of magic against them. That’s something I think will improve.

“I’ve been disappointed with the negativity around Wirtz. I mean when you come for that much money, I get it, but we’re seven games in. He’s 22 years old, coming to one of the biggest clubs in the world with huge expectations. More expectations on him than probably any of the others.

“I’m not concerned. I’m a big fan of his and he just needs a big moment. If he has the Szoboszlai moment (against Arsenal), this goes away.

“I think the Liverpool supporters as a group, will get behind him and support him and we’ll see the best of him.”

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