How useful is Daniel Agger to LFC?

There are few players who divide Liverpool fans as much as Daniel Agger. One of Rafa Benitez’s last remaining signings still at the club, his loyalty to the club has never faultered during difficult times; as evidenced by the letters “LFC” and “YWNA” tattooed across his knuckles. But does he still have a future at the club?

After enjoying his best season yet under Kenny Dalglish a couple of years ago, Agger seemed to regress once Brendan Rodgers took over. While he managed to avoid any serious injuries, he was plagued by frequent lapses of concentration that frequently caused errors that would lead to conceding chances and often goals.

While it would be wrong to say that he cut the errors out of his game completely in the last campaign, he did seem to improve. I can’t think of much he did wrong off the top of my head in 2014 and he proved a capable member of the squad.

However, I don’t think Rodgers is convinced. Agger may have started the season as first choice centre back with Kolo Toure, but that was more out of necessity than anything else. After the purchase of Sakho and the reemergence of Skrtel as a quality centre half, Agger dropped down the pecking order. Skrtel was in the form of his life (despite nearly giving away at least one penalty in seemingly every game) and not only was Sakho expensive, but he had proven himself a leader at the back with both PSG and France. He was younger and had bags of potential, and Agger was certainly not helped by the fact that Rodgers refused to play two left-footed centre halves.

Sakho was clearly first choice when he was fit, yet Agger would never be allowed to partner him. He got runs in the side when the Frenchman was out injured, but it was clear who Rodgers preferred.

This summer, with the rumours that Barcelona are sniffing around refusing to go away, many fans believe we should just get the money for Agger while we still can. Though I personally believe he deserves a bit more loyalty than that, if a good offer comes in for the Dane then perhaps we should take it.

He’s clearly not first choice right now, and if that remains the same this season then I can’t see him wanting to stay much longer. It’s always been the case for Agger that he’s not had much competition at the back, so it’s been easier for him to stay then perhaps it would be if he wasn’t guaranteed regular football. There are worse ideas out there and it could be beneficial to the player.

However, with Liverpool’s participation in Europe this season we’ll need a bigger squad with as much quality and experience as possible. Agger has Champions League experience and if he can cut out the lapses in concentration, he could be especially useful to us.

Some deadwood needs to be trimmed this summer, but don’t be fooled. Agger is certainly not useless.

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