‘That tells me…’ – Alan Shearer suggests Arne Slot doesn’t fully trust £29m Liverpool player | OneFootball

Alan Shearer has appeared to suggest that Arne Slot doesn’t fully trust in one of the players that he signed for Liverpool during the summer transfer window.

The first of multiple new arrivals at Anfield since the end of last season was Jeremie Frimpong, who joined from Bayer Leverkusen in a £29.5m deal in late May (BBC Sport).

The roving Dutch full-back was deployed in a right-sided attacking role in the match against Galatasaray on Tuesday night, with Mo Salah surprisingly benched and Dominik Szoboszlai chosen at right-back, but the tactical reshuffle didn’t have the desired effect.

Shearer: Slot doesn’t seem to ‘rely’ on Frimpong at right-back

Shearer was puzzled as to why the Hungarian midfielder was picked in defence last night and not either Frimpong or Conor Bradley, and he suggested that the Netherlands international doesn’t appear to have Slot’s full trust to play at right-back.

The ex-Newcastle striker said on co-commentary for Prime Video Sport (via TBR Football): “They spent heavily on Frimpong. It would be a little concern that [Slot] seems to not rely on him as yet. He’s playing him in a different position.

“He’s playing a midfielder in the right-back position, and they’ve probably been the best right-back up until now. He certainly was in the performance against Newcastle anyway; he was the man of the match, Szoboszlai.

“They paid a lot of money for a right-back in Frimpong. You’ve got a good prospect in Bradley, yet you’re playing a midfielder at right-back. That tells me he’s not comfortable.”

(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Frimpong experiment didn’t go to plan last night

Some reporters questioned the selection of Szoboszlai at right-back, with Baris Alper Yilmaz having plenty of joy up against the Hungarian (and conning a penalty off him), and Slot’s decision to play Frimpong in attack also seemed to backfire.

The Netherlands international’s pace got him into promising positions, and the endeavour was certainly there on his part, but all too often he either put in a wayward delivery or didn’t cross at all – as per Sofascore, just one of his six attempted crosses found a teammate.

With Salah leaving for the Africa Cup of Nations over the festive period, it’s understandable that the Liverpool head coach may have wanted to try Frimpong in an attacking role to see if it’s a viable option for later in the season, but it didn’t go to plan against Galatasaray.

Slot has experimented with a few players occupying positions other than their customary roles in recent games, but after two defeats in a row, maybe it’s best for him to keep it simple against Chelsea and return to what worked earlier in the season (and for almost all of 2024/25).

If that means restoring the £29m summer signing to right-back or recalling Bradley to the starting XI on Saturday, so be it.