Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believes his former club could have benefited from having Timo Werner within their ranks as they were held to a goalless draw in last night's Merseyside derby against Everton at Goodison Park.
In their first game back following the coronavirus shutdown, Liverpool, who face Crystal Palace at Anfield on Wednesday night, failed to take another giant stride towards their first league title in 30 years, as they were frustrated by the arch rivals in an empty Goodison Park.
Playing for the first time since early-March, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp made a couple of shock decisions when it came to naming his starting line-up, with both Andy Robertson and star man Mohamed Salah left on the bench.
In place of Salah, January recruit Takumi Minamino was handed his first Premier League start and he struggled to fill the void that had been left vacant by the Egyptian.
And now, Carragher, who was co-commentating on the game for Sky Sports, believes Liverpool would have benefited from having Werner, who will join Chelsea this summer from RB Leipzig, as a stand-in for Salah, as he would have been able to provide the pace that Salah so often shows to stretch opposition defences.
"You mentioned the Werner situation, Martin [Tyler],” Carragher told Sky Sports. “It’s interesting without someone who provides that pace and penetration like [Mohamed] Salah.
“He’s gone with Minamino who’s a different type of player.
"So in that front three you’ve got two who prefer to come towards the ball rather than run in-behind.
“It’s interesting he went with Minamino and not [Divock] Origi.”
Liverpool were long-term admirers of Werner but never made a concrete attempt to secure the German's services, leaving the door wide open for Chelsea to seal his signature, which they duly did last week, ensuring he will arrive at Stamford Bridge ahead of next season.
