“Don’t think he’s good enough on the ball” - Glen Johnson insists Liverpool must sign new player instead of solely relying on 26-year-old defender

Former Liverpool defender Glen Johnson believes the Reds should sign a natural full-back instead of solely relying on Joe Gomez as a backup to Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Gomez, 26, a natural centre-back played in the full-back position during his side's 2-1 Carabao Cup win over Bournemouth on Wednesday night (November 1). During the match, the defender recorded an 83 percent passing accuracy, managing just one accurate cross and two long balls out of an attempted four.

Claiming that the Reds need an out-and-out full-back in the role, Johnson said after the match (via Mirror):

"Liverpool need a natural full-back to be playing at all times because of how important they are in Klopp's system. Gomez is a fantastic centre-half, but I don’t think he’s good enough on the ball or strong enough at passing to be creative and help the team further up the field to be playing at right-back, because it’s not his game."

"Of course, he’s good enough to be doing the job against certain teams but a top team like Liverpool needs natural full-backs playing for them," he added.

This season, Gomez has deputized at right-back three times in the Premier League owing to first-choice Alexander-Arnold's hamstring injury. Currently, the Reds lack natural cover on the right-hand side as compared to the opposite flank where Kostas Tsimikar can fill in for Andrew Robertson.

Since joining Liverpool from Charlton back in 2015, Gomez has made 186 appearances for the Reds across competitions, bagging seven assists.

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Michael Owen lavishes praise on Liverpool's Darwin Nunez following incredible goal against Bournemouth

Darwin Nunez (via Getty Images)

Former Liverpool star Michael Owen lavished praise on Darwin Nunez, who scored his side's winner in the 2-1 Carabao Cup victory against Bournemouth.

Jurgen Klopp decided to bring on the striker for Harvey Elliott in the 60th minute. With the game tied at 1-1, Nunez received the ball on the left-hand side, drove into the box, and curled it into the net from a difficult angle in the 70th minute.

Following the incredible strike, Owen wrote on his X account:

"That goal from Darwin Nunez on Tuesday night sums him up at this stage of his career. There’s an unbelievable player in there somewhere but he’s still so rough around the edges."

The Uruguay international seems to have come to life this season, bagging seven goals and five assists in 14 appearances across all competitions. He managed just nine league strikes for Liverpool during the 2022-23 campaign following a €100 million move from Benfica that summer.

It certainly looks like the 24-year-old forward is on his way to bettering those stats from last season.