Liverpool stalwart wants no reinforcements and relies on home-grown talent

Liverpool stalwart Jamie Carragher is backing the decision not to bring in any more reinforcements for this season because of his faith in the youth academy, while calls for midfield reinforcements are growing. The former player has also advised Harvey Elliott to have a "great" season with the Reds.

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So far, Liverpool have two Premier League draws to their name, a somewhat sluggish start compared to rivals Manchester City, and there is something of an injury crisis to worry about on Merseyside. Many of those problems have been concentrated in midfield, with Thiago, Curtis Jones and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain currently out of action and Naby Keita with a pending contract negotiation with the club.

Although manager Jurgen Klopp still has six midfielders, including Keita, to choose from for Monday's trip to Old Trafford where they face Manchester United, all but Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho are aged 27 or over, which has led to calls for more reinforcements. While Carragher agrees that the age profile needs to be adjusted, the former Liverpool captain does not see any further arrivals this summer, and predicts the club will have something "ready" next year.

Carragher's words

"I think they would only go for a player they really wanted if he was on the market right now for whatever reason. I'm sure they've got something lined up for midfield next summer, that's why they haven't done it this summer. They certainly have the numbers in terms of midfielders, but those numbers are getting over 30 and they're quite injury prone, so you don't see a lot of them playing or having a full season, so I think there will be a lot of cuts and changes in midfield," he said.

"I think Liverpool will go with what they've got. I think most will look at Liverpool's starting line-up and think they could do with a quality midfielder to come in there, of a different age to what Liverpool's starting midfield has with Henderson, Thiago, Fabinho - Thiago is out now - but they're over 30," he added.

He also claimed that Harvey Elliott is going to have a great season because he has played so much in that position, so he has no doubt that next summer Liverpool must have something in place, as they did with Virgil van Dijk, who he held up as an example of a very successful outcome for Liverpool.