Liverpool warned transfer mistake will haunt them in Premier League title race

Liverpool had a stunning summer transfer window, but they could be left to rue their failure to sign Marc Guehi. That’s according to talkSPORT’s Ally McCoist, amid concerns over how the new-look Reds defence have performed so far this season. Liverpool have shown defensive frailties at the start of this seasonGetty Liverpool spent £446million this summer, with British record transfer deals for Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz their headline arrivals. They agreed another £35m deal for Crystal Palace centre-back Guehi but the move dramatically collapsed on deadline day. Arne Slot’s side have kept just two clean sheets in ten matches this season as they look to win back-to-back Premier League titles. And after their 1-0 Champions League defeat to Galatasaray, McCoist believes missing out on Guehi could be detrimental to their success. Speaking on Breakfast, he said: “You look at [Hugo] Ekitike, Wirtz, all of them, all the players that they’ve brought in… “Do you know who might be the one they never brought in that will cost them?” “Guehi,” Alan Brazil replied, with McCoist agreeing and then adding: “Absolutely. That might be the one [thats costs them in the title race].” Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate played a huge role in their league title win last season, but have struggled in the new campaign. Slot has little room for manoeuvre after Giovanni Leoni suffered an ACL injury on his debut and could be sidelined for a year. Joe Gomez and Wataru Endo are two other options to play at centre-back, but there’s concern for another area of their backline. Guehi could have helped transform the Liverpool defence had he signedGetty Will Alexander-Arnold be missed? Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez joined in respective £29.5m and £40m deals as two new full-back options for Liverpool. Frimpong in particular arrived after Trent Alexander-Arnold left for Real Madrid, a switch that angered much of the Reds fanbase. However, neither he or Kerkez have dazzled in defence throughout the start of the season, especially against Galatasaray. As a result, ex-Reds striker Dean Saunders wonders if Liverpool, and particularly Salah, will miss the quality of Alexander-Arnold going forward. “I’m not saying this after the event either, I said it to you off the air,” he told Jamie O’Hara on Drive. “Who’s the best passer of the ball, arguably, in the world? Trent. Do you think Salah’s going to miss him? Saunders wonders if Liverpool would yearn for Alexander-Arnold’s link-up with SalahGetty “Because obviously, a lot of Salah’s service came from disguised passes… He was on the same wavelength as Trent. “How did he keep getting in behind people? Because Trent would say, ‘Before I’ve even got the ball, start running’.” “Frimpong seems like someone who wants to run with the ball, he’s like a marauding full-back,” O’Hara added. “Trent was more of a football player who would like to assist Salah, and it feels like that’s gone out of their team.” Saunders then said: “Both full-backs tonight had opportunities to pick people out in the box, and didn’t.”

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Liverpool had a stunning summer transfer window, but they could be left to rue their failure to sign Marc Guehi.

That’s according to talkSPORT’s Ally McCoist, amid concerns over how the new-look Reds defence have performed so far this season.

Liverpool spent £446million this summer, with British record transfer deals for Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz their headline arrivals.

They agreed another £35m deal for Crystal Palace centre-back Guehi but the move dramatically collapsed on deadline day.

Arne Slot’s side have kept just two clean sheets in ten matches this season as they look to win back-to-back Premier League titles.

And after their 1-0 Champions League defeat to Galatasaray, McCoist believes missing out on Guehi could be detrimental to their success.

Speaking on Breakfast, he said: “You look at [Hugo] Ekitike, Wirtz, all of them, all the players that they’ve brought in…

“Do you know who might be the one they never brought in that will cost them?”

“Guehi,” Alan Brazil replied, with McCoist agreeing and then adding: “Absolutely. That might be the one [thats costs them in the title race].”

Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate played a huge role in their league title win last season, but have struggled in the new campaign.

Slot has little room for manoeuvre after Giovanni Leoni suffered an ACL injury on his debut and could be sidelined for a year.

Joe Gomez and Wataru Endo are two other options to play at centre-back, but there’s concern for another area of their backline.

Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez joined in respective £29.5m and £40m deals as two new full-back options for Liverpool.

Frimpong in particular arrived after Trent Alexander-Arnold left for Real Madrid, a switch that angered much of the Reds fanbase.

However, neither he or Kerkez have dazzled in defence throughout the start of the season, especially against Galatasaray.

As a result, ex-Reds striker Dean Saunders wonders if Liverpool, and particularly Salah, will miss the quality of Alexander-Arnold going forward.

“I’m not saying this after the event either, I said it to you off the air,” he told Jamie O’Hara on Drive.

“Who’s the best passer of the ball, arguably, in the world? Trent. Do you think Salah’s going to miss him?

“Because obviously, a lot of Salah’s service came from disguised passes… He was on the same wavelength as Trent.

“How did he keep getting in behind people? Because Trent would say, ‘Before I’ve even got the ball, start running’.”

“Frimpong seems like someone who wants to run with the ball, he’s like a marauding full-back,” O’Hara added.

“Trent was more of a football player who would like to assist Salah, and it feels like that’s gone out of their team.”

Saunders then said: “Both full-backs tonight had opportunities to pick people out in the box, and didn’t.”