Liverpool spent close to £450 million rebuilding their squad last summer, and Jamie Carragher thinks the club may come to regret every pound of it. Speaking on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football after Liverpool's stumbling 2-2 draw at Newcastle, the former Reds defender said the window could go down as the worst business a Premier League club has ever done.
"If this doesn't change in the next two or three months under Iraola, and these players improving, I think we're going to be looking at that as arguably the worst transfer window we've probably seen in Premier League history, when you consider the fees for these players, and what it's going to do for Liverpool," Carragher said.
The list of arrivals is eye-watering. Alexander Isak joined from Newcastle for £125 million on transfer deadline day, while Florian Wirtz arrived from Bayer Leverkusen for an initial £100 million that could rise to £116 million. Liverpool also paid £79 million for Hugo Ekitike, plus fees for Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Giorgi Mamardashvili and teenage centre-back Giovanni Leoni.
Carragher singled out Ekitike as the one clear success of the window, saying the others have underperformed relative to their price tags for the best part of a year. He was particularly scathing about Wirtz, who arrived as Germany's brightest young talent and a British-record signing for an attacking midfielder.
"I don't see where he fits in at all, really," Carragher said of the 23-year-old. He went further on the fee itself: "Neat and tidy footballer. Not a player who should be worth £110m, someone who probably should be £50m-60m." He also questioned Liverpool's midfield balance more broadly, saying: "I don't believe that midfield can function with the personnel in there. For me, it doesn't work," adding that Liverpool's attacking players think only of "going forwards" at the expense of defensive solidity.
Gary Neville, working alongside Carragher, was equally pointed on Wirtz and Isak, describing both as "too nice" and saying they "must now start delivering" after being given time to settle into English football.
The criticism landed the day after Liverpool were pegged back twice at St James' Park on the opening weekend of the season. Anthony Elanga put Newcastle ahead inside four minutes, Cody Gakpo levelled just after the break, Joe Willock restored the hosts' lead moments after coming off the bench, and Dominik Szoboszlai's stoppage-time penalty rescued a point for the visitors.
It was also the competitive bow for both new managers: Andoni Iraola, who succeeded Arne Slot at Anfield this summer, and Matthias Jaissle at Newcastle. Slot led Liverpool to the Premier League title in his debut season but was relieved of his duties after the club slumped to fifth place last term, prompting the club to turn to Iraola for a reset.
Carragher was not optimistic about an immediate turnaround, adding: "I don't think Liverpool will be contenders this season." The club now have little time to respond, with Nottingham Forest visiting Anfield on August 29 in what has quickly become a significant early test for Iraola's tenure.
