Former Liverpool defender Glen Johnson names key area Reds 'got wrong' during massive summer transfer window outlay

The headline additions included German playmaker Florian Wirtz arriving from Bayer Leverkusen for £100 million, a fee that could rise to £116m ($155m) with performance-related bonuses, and Swedish striker Alexander Isak, whose British-record £125m ($168m) move was celebrated as the final piece of Liverpool’s evolving attack. Isak, who scored prolifically at Newcastle, has managed only two goals in 14 Liverpool appearances. Wirtz, meanwhile, has shown glimpses of class, registering a handful of assists in the Champions League, but remains goalless in all competitions. The 22-year-old has struggled to impose himself in a Liverpool side that has lacked rhythm and intensity, and his own performances have been a far cry from the assertive machine he orchestrated at Leverkusen. Elsewhere, Hugo Ekitike began brightly but has faced injury setbacks. And with Mohamed Salah looking noticeably off the pace after a remarkable 2024-25 season, the entire attacking unit has looked short of inspiration.

It was not the high-profile forwards, however, that drew Glen Johnson’s sharpest criticism. Speaking to BetWright online casino UK, the former right-back singled out defensive recruits Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong as deals that Liverpool "got wrong".

"Liverpool very rarely get it wrong with transfers, but for me, they got it wrong with the signing of Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez in the summer," he said. 

He cautioned against writing players off too early but admitted both have fallen well short of expectations.

He added: "I don’t want to be too harsh on new players or write them off, because it does take time for some to settle down at a big club like Liverpool, especially when coming from teams where there’s less pressure. But at the moment, they don’t look up to it."

Johnson expressed surprise that Liverpool, a club renowned for data-driven recruitment, had misfired on these two particular signings.

"It’s strange, because Liverpool usually hit the nail on the head with these types of deals - so many statistics and data goes into their recruitment– but, for now, it looks as if they’ve got those deals wrong," he claimed.

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Liverpool’s summer spending spree was intended to accelerate a squad rebuild following the departures of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luis Díaz. The club pursued a strategy of aggressive investment, hoping to refresh all key areas at once. Instead, the volume of changes appears to have destabilised the team’s core structure. Arne Slot’s side has struggled to find fluency, and established stars have not always meshed easily with newcomers. However, they did churn out a result at San Siro against Inter in the Champions League, which should boost their morale. 

Slot said after the win: "I think it was mainly for us very important that we got a result today, because with an away game to Marseille also still to play and one home game, we needed points. And we know how difficult that would be over here, because they have been so, so, so strong in this stadium, in the league but definitely also in the Champions League. So it's a great result, like it was against Real Madrid. It's not funny but it's the weird thing that we've had a few special results this season; so, beating Arsenal, beating Real Madrid, beating Newcastle away, beating Aston Villa where they won 10 in a row and only lost against us. So that's why it's so surprising to see that we drop points in so many other games, although there are multiple reasons, but one of them I just said."

Liverpool will hope to carry Champions League momentum back into the Premier League when they host Brighton on Saturday. The Seagulls are capable of troubling any side, and Slot knows a win is essential if Liverpool are to climb back toward the European places.