OPINION
Jamie Carragher was wrong to dismiss the potential attacking threat Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could add to Liverpool midfielder when urging his former side to embark on a January mission.
The Sky Sports pundit claimed that the Reds should look to sign a player to address their lack of a creative midfielder and pointed out they had no-one similar to Manchester City duo David Silva and Bernardo Silva.
Carragher went through the current options Jurgen Klopp had available to him and appeared to disregard the idea that Oxlade-Chamberlain was the type of midfielder who could be what the Reds are currently lacking.
“If Liverpool are in a really good position in January, I think they’ve got to be looking to address that [midfield area],” Carragher following the Reds’ 0-0 draw with Man City on Sky Sports.
“It’s not even necessarily having someone who comes in and plays every single game. They just haven’t even got anyone like that in the squad. Adam Lallana is too injury prone.
“Even if Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain comes back, [Naby] Keita goes in or Fabinho goes in they are all the same. Liverpool don’t play with a No 10, but there’s no David Silva or Bernardo Silva or a player like that in the squad.
“I’m not talking about that player playing every week. It’s just the fact of having someone like that in the squad to turn to when you feel you need that player.”
While Klopp will no doubt have to cope without Oxlade-Chamberlain for the majority of this season due to injury, Carragher is wrong to not acknowledge that the midfielder could be exactly the player he is describing that the Reds’ currently miss.
The 25-year-old, who earns £120,000-a-week (Source: The Telegraph), showed signs that he was turning into a reliable creative spark for his side and there’s no reason to suggest he could provide the magic Carragher appears to think the Reds lack.
Oxlade-Chamberlain may have only ended his 2017/18 league campaign with three goals and seven assists but he was clearly improving as an attacking threat the more he played.
Just look at how the 25-year-old ran the show against Manchester City in January, during the 4-3 win over them, when he scored one while assisting one.
Oxlade-Chamberlain constantly created opportunities for his teammates and weaved around any Man City player that stood in his way with ease, so how is that not the type of player Carragher is describing?
It might be understandable that the Sky Sports pundit wants reinforcements signed in January to aid the club’s trophy ambitions for this season, but that means the club could potentially just be spending a lot of money for a placeholder for Oxlade-Chamberlain and that just seems pointless.
Therefor Carragher is wrong to dismiss the potential threat of Oxlade-Chamberlain while trying to urge the Reds to embark on a transfer mission in the winter window.
