Arne Slot urged to take action as Liverpool stars 'don't trust' new team-mate

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An alarmed Steve Nicol believes that Liverpool players 'don't trust' Milos Kerkez in the wake of his difficult start to life at Anfield and that the left-back should be dropped after struggling again in the defeat against Manchester United .

Kerkez was snapped up for £40million this summer after starring in the Premier League for Bournemouth last season, however, the Hungary international has looked a shadow of the player that caught the eye on the south coast in a red shirt.

The 21-year-old was singled out again during the 2-1 defeat to United with Sky Sports pundit, Jamie Redknapp, describing Kerkez as "a nervous wreck" . And Nicol believes that Kerkez new team-mates do not trust him in games as a direct consequence of his shaky performances since joining the champions.

"The biggest problem I have, and one of the biggest reasons that I think Kerkez shouldn’t start is not just what it’s doing to the back-line and particularly Virgil van Dijk, but the rest of the team don’t trust Kerkez," Nicol told ESPN .

"Kerkez reacts to it by panicking, and then he goes scared, and then he doesn’t want to make a mistake, which is why he keeps turning back and playing an easy ball backwards. But it’s not just Virgil van Dijk – everybody in that team doesn’t want to give him a ball.

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"That is a horrible position for Kekrez, but it’s a position that Arne Slot has to understand is way, way worse for the team than just the fact that Kerkez isn’t having a particularly good time."

Kerkez was brought in to challenge Andy Robertson for the left-back berth. But with the Scotland international coming off the back of a less than stellar 2024-25 campaign, Nicol has urged Slot to move Conor Bradley over from right-back.

"I absolutely would pull Bradley over to that side," he continued. "I don’t think Andy Robertson right now is ready to start.

"I would tell Bradley that first and foremost, your job is to defend and back up Gakpo on the left side. I don’t need you running past Gakpo, I don’t need you making runs into the middle of the park, I need you to be solid.

"And I would bring Frimpong in [on the right side] because he would give everybody a lift. He has an energy that is infectious, and right now Liverpool needs a little spark to get everyone going, and I think Frimpong would do that.

"Yes, he’s not the greatest defender, but he will give you everything and that energy will absolutely count."

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