Ex-Liverpool star Glen Johnson does not believe that Stefan Bajcetic, Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho are ‘good enough’ to play regularly for his former side. The trio have been called upon regularly by Jurgen Klopp due to his midfield crisis, though it may have come at the expense of their progress.
The Reds have struggled this season, largely due to their recurring injury problems and lack of quality in that department. Players that were once reliable have struggled for form, prompting talk about a major midfield overhaul in the summer transfer window.
In the short-term, Klopp has turned to his younger prospects, with Bajcetic one of the first names on the team sheet until he sustained an abductor injury that has ruled him out for the remainder of the campaign. The 18-year-old made 19 appearances this season prior to the problem, featuring alongside Elliott and Carvalho on several occasions.
The youngsters have earned praise for their performances, though Johnson feels that they have been thrown in at the deep end at Anfield and are not ready to be regularly playing for the club. Asked if Bajcetic, Elliott and Carvalho are the short-term solutions, he told DAZN: “Not really; obviously, they are good players and they will go on to be fantastic players, but they are not good enough to make you win the Champions League or even the Premier League right now.
“Those young players are obviously talented, but they need the experienced players around them for them to improve. You can’t have half a team full of those sorts of players – inexperienced and needing guidance – to get Liverpool back to where they belong.
“I have no doubt they will become those sorts of players going forward, but you can’t rely on them for that now. If those three are in your starting XI when you play Man City, you are going to get pulled all over the place. That’s not a dig at them, but you can’t just develop them all at the same time.
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