Glen Johnson: It’s mind-blowing that people think Darwin Nunez isn’t good enough for Liverpool | OneFootball

Johnson gave his thoughts on the Premier League title race and Liverpool’s chances of winning the Quadruple, as well as Mohamed Salah’s potential rivals.

He also spoke about Chelsea‘s recent struggles and Portsmouth’s chances in the Championship relegation battle.

Liverpool moved six points clear at the top of the Premier League at the weekend, with a game in hand. Would you say the title race is over? Or do you think there are still twists and turns to come in the season?

I don’t think you can go as far as saying it’s over, there’s a lot of football to be played. This league can throw up crazy results and people can hit a bad patch relatively quickly.

Yes, they’re in a great position and obviously they’re still doing everything right on the pitch, performance-wise. Like I say, they’re in a great position, but there’s an awful lot more football to be played.

And across all competitions, how do you rate Liverpool’s chances of winning the Quadruple?

It’s always going to be slim. It’ll be slim for anybody because it’s such a tough ask, and very demanding on the players, the squad, and luck. It’ll always be slim, but while you’re in the competitions then obviously you have a chance.

I think ability-wise, of course they can. But I just think the squad might be a little bit light. If they get two or three injuries, they might be a little bit light to go deep in every single competition.

You mentioned injuries, Diogo Jota is injured again. He’s already missed 12 games this season through injury. With Darwin Nunez’s future also in doubt, do Liverpool need to think about replacing them both?

I don’t think so. I think the speculation with Nunez is crazy anyway. I don’t understand why people think he’s not good enough for Liverpool, so that blows my mind. I don’t think he should go anywhere.

And Jota’s obviously a fantastic player, he just needs a bit of luck with the injuries. And both of these players are hard to replace. So I don’t think they should panic buy just because someone’s injured. I think they should give Jota some time and Nunez proved at the weekend that he can deliver.

You recently said that Conor Bradley has looked better than Trent Alexander-Arnold when he’s stepped in at right-back this season. What strengths does he bring to the Liverpool starting XI that Alexander-Arnold doesn’t?

Yeah, I didn’t say that he’s looked better than Trent as a whole, but there have certainly been times when he has performed better, in certain weeks. I think we all know he’s a better defender, he’s probably a better runner, probably a better athlete.

But obviously Trent’s incredible on the ball and his passing and his assists, his technical ability, are untouchable. So you’ve almost got two different players really.

Mohamed Salah leads the Premier League right now for goals and assists. Is there anyone that could rival him as the best player in the league right now?

Probably the obvious. Probably Cole Palmer. He’s delivering in a not-so-good team, and he’s the main man. Basically, if he plays well they have a chance of winning. So for that, I’d probably put him up there. But obviously Mo has raised the bar again and he’s just kicked on. Anyone that’s mentioned in the same sentence as Mo at the moment is doing something right.

And what about the best player in the world? Is there a case for Salah being No.1?

Just off the top of my head, I can’t think of anyone I’d pick ahead of him in terms of who I’d want in my team. Of course, there are a lot of fantastic players that are playing really well, but Mo’s numbers are just a joke and he keeps doing it. It’s crazy.

You hear a lot of fans outside of Liverpool criticising him, saying he sometimes looks a bit messy and a bit clumsy. But that’s madness. When you look at the numbers, whatever he does, it’s working. I don’t know how anyone, even outside of Liverpool, can have a bad word to say about him.

You mentioned Cole Palmer at Chelsea. They did win on Monday, but they’ve gone through a bit of a struggle of late. Why do you think this might be, after their bright start under Enzo Maresca?

I think it’s just that the Premier League is very hard, and you have to be 100% at it every game. And I just think Chelsea may have found it a bit hard to maintain the level that they set. Because like you said, they did bounce back and they looked really good and they looked competitive.

But they have tailed off a little bit, and maybe it’s a bit of fatigue. Like I said, it’s mentally tiring to perform at that level every week as well. But if they do want to get back to challenging for the top four and titles, then they’re going to have to find a way to be able to do that.

One of the very few ways people have managed to criticise Pep Guardiola is to call him a ‘chequebook manager’. Has his response to Man City’s problems this season – spending more money – changed the way you look at him at all?

No, not at all. If Man City were top of the league, he still probably would have bought some players. I think people are just saying he’s spending now because they are struggling in terms of their standards in the league. But they would have had their eyes on these players for the last six months.

They haven’t had their eyes on them for the last five weeks, when they’ve been getting rubbish results. So no, I think he would have wanted these players even if they were sat top of the league.

Amad Diallo is in a really good run of form for Manchester United at the minute and is probably their best player. Is there a Premier League player that has surprised you more than Diallo this season?

I don’t think it’s a surprise that Diallo is doing what he’s doing, because I think he’s always looked like he had a spark. He always looked like he had something about him. I think now it’s just coming together and he’s getting that little bit of luck which turns into the goals and the assists.

When you’re the sort of player that’s quick, the ball’s always close to him, he’s only inches away from a mistake or a goal. Once you get a bit of luck and a bit of form, things sort of go your way. So I think he’s always had that spark, he was just a little bit unlucky with certain finishes. So to see him doing that now, it’s not really a surprise. But I guess the surprise is that he’s doing it regularly, which is a good thing for him because he’s finally showing his potential.

There’s still a long way to go in the season, but Portsmouth are currently in the Championship relegation zone. How do you rate their chances of avoiding relegation in a tough league?

Like you say, it’s a touch league. They’re in a relegation position for a reason. I guess the positive is that they’ve got a game in hand on everyone around them. But the problem is, they’re in the relegation zone because they’re not winning games. Games in hand are only good if you can bloody win them.

I think they’ve got a chance because if they do win that game in hand then it lifts them up to like 18th, and then it’s a different ball game. But like I say, they’re in the relegation zone because they’re not winning games.