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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Samuel Meade

Jamie Carragher makes Liverpool demand which could affect Diogo Jota's future role

Jamie Carragher has called on Liverpool to sign a striker in the summer to ease the burden on Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.

The Reds added Diogo Jota last summer and he made an instant impact - but the pundit does not feel as though the Portuguese star is a striker.

Roberto Firmino's influence on games has often been hailed, but his lack of goals is seen as an issue.

Jota's performances saw calls for him to replace the Brazilian before Jurgen Klopp found a way to accommodate the pair.

But Liverpool's form over the past two months has shone a light on the pressures placed on Salah and Mane in the final third.

Diogo Jota has not been labelled as a striker (Getty Images)

As a result Carragher wants to see his former side sign a striker, despite already having Jota and Firmino in their ranks.

Liverpool definitely need to bring a goalscorer in,” he told Sky Sports.

“I don't know exactly what position for, whether that's a centre-forward or a midfielder.

“At the moment they are massively reliant on Salah and Mane, nobody else looks like they're going to score.

“Jota has been a miss, but whether Jota would ever be first choice in a Liverpool team - I'm not sure yet. He made a great start when he came in.

Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah are heavily relied upon (Pool via REUTERS)

“I think they need to add goals to the team, whether that's a midfield player who can score goals because it looks like Wijnaldum is going to move on or it's a case of doing something different through the middle.

“You look at Bobby Firmino and Liverpool's attacking players, they don’t actually have a striker. Jota is not a striker, same with Mane, same with Salah.

“They have Divock Origi but he’s nowhere near good enough. And he a lot of the time plays out wide, because he can’t play as a centre-forward.

“So Firmino plays that role but we always talk about him being a 'false nine', he's not actually an out-and-out striker.

“I think Liverpool could do with bringing a striker in, just to shake things up and primarily someone who gets goals. I think there's too much pressure on those two players at the top of the pitch to score goals.

“If they don't score, Liverpool don't look like scoring."

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