Carragher warns Liverpool's £700m squad risks becoming 'failed galacticos' under Iraola

Jamie Carragher has labelled Liverpool’s squad a ‘mish-mash’ and warned the club’s high-profile signings risk being remembered as ‘failed galacticos’, despite the Reds spending more than £700 million on players in recent transfer windows.

Andoni Iraola, who was appointed to succeed Arne Slot earlier this year after the Dutchman failed to build on a Premier League title win in his debut season, remains unbeaten in his opening six games. But Carragher argues that run flatters to deceive, with draws against Nottingham Forest, Fulham, and Newcastle among the results that have underwhelmed.

“The Basque coach is the first Liverpool appointment to work with more than £700m of recent signings while being entitled to feel he has been dealt a bad hand,” Carragher wrote in The Telegraph.

Carragher pointed to Liverpool’s midweek performance against Tottenham Hotspur — in which younger players impressed — as the clearest indication yet of what Iraola is trying to build, suggesting the club’s expensive stars have so far failed to reflect his vision on the pitch.

“Everything Iraola has said and done so far screams that he is searching for the right blend in his starting XI while having to eradicate negative traits, with and without the ball,” Carragher added.

Liverpool have broken the £100 million barrier on three separate occasions over the past 12 months, yet those additions have struggled to produce consistent performances. Carragher argues the squad requires significant restructuring before it can approach the levels that delivered the title just 15 months ago.

“Despite the club’s lavish outlay since last summer, Iraola has inherited a mish-mash of a squad. It demands re-organisation and rewiring to get anywhere near the levels of consistency which made Liverpool champions just 15 months ago,” he wrote.

Carragher also cautioned that it may take several more transfer windows, targeting specific profiles suited to Iraola’s style, before the squad coheres — a sobering assessment given the scale of investment already made. Iraola faces a significant early test when Liverpool meet his former club Bournemouth, his first return since leaving the south-coast side.