£200m Spent, but Mind the Gaps: Why Iraola’s Liverpool Still Looks Dangerously Unbalanced

Liverpool fans might have expected a perfectly fine-tuned machine after yet another massive summer transfer window, but despite a net spend exceeding £200m, Andoni Iraola’s squad looks glaringly lopsided. The marquee arrival of Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain for a staggering £123m was meant to be the crown jewel of the window. Instead, the deal has only highlighted a confusing recruitment strategy that has left the Reds with more questions than answers as the 2026 campaign gets underway. The most pressing concern is the colossal void left by Mohamed Salah. Having lost arguably the best left-footed right-winger in Premier League history, Liverpool’s hierarchy curiously responded by stockpiling players who favour the opposite flank. Barcola is undeniably talented and versatile, but deploying him on the right sacrifices his best attributes. With Cody Gakpo, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, and new arrival Victor Munoz all historically operating on the left side of the attack, the frontline looks remarkably unbalanced. Sky Sports pundit and Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher voiced the frustrations of many supporters, stating, "Liverpool have not got a real out-and-out right-sided attacker. We have not got anybody with a left foot on that right side, like Mo Salah. I am not quite sure what we are going to do on that right wing right now." But the structural flaws extend well beyond the forward line. Iraola’s tactical blueprint demands incredibly high-energy, overlapping full-backs. Tracking data already shows Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez ranking among the Premier League's top three sprinters. With Conor Bradley sidelined by injury, Frimpong has stepped straight into the right-back role—despite the club initially stressing last summer that he wasn't signed simply to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold. This aggressive, bombing full-back deployment puts immense pressure on the midfield to provide cover, and it’s here that Liverpool’s "rest defence" looks frighteningly fragile. During their opening fixtures, including a chaotic 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest, massive structural gaps emerged. As the full-backs push high and Virgil van Dijk increasingly opts to drop deep, the midfield space is left entirely vacant. Newcastle brilliantly exploited this exact structural flaw to score in the opening five minutes of their clash. Carragher remains deeply sceptical about the current engine room’s ability to execute Iraola’s demanding vision. "I do not believe that midfield can function with the personnel in there," he warned. "For me, it does not work. And it is not just about personnel, it is the structure the manager is asking for." While Ryan Gravenberch proved crucial in Arne Slot's previous title-winning campaign, expecting him and an increasingly less physical Alexis Mac Allister to single-handedly extinguish Premier League counter-attacks is a massive gamble. Iraola’s system at Bournemouth thrived on aggressive ball-winning high up the pitch, but it remains to be seen if he has the right defensive profiles at Anfield to replicate that intensity without being repeatedly punished on the break. For now, Iraola finds himself at the helm of the most expensively assembled squad in Liverpool’s history, yet arguably its most structurally flawed in a decade. Unless the Spanish manager can quickly find a tactical compromise that balances his attacking ambition with defensive solidity, Premier League fans can expect plenty more breathless, high-scoring draws from the Reds this season.