Liverpool have problem Marc Guehi will not fix that could stop them winning the league

Liverpool came under fire for their defensive frailties as they started the new Premier League season with a 4-2 victory over Bournemouth last Friday. And Marc Guehi may not be the man to solve their issues if Jamie Carragher is correct in his assessment of the north west giants.

Liverpool cruised to the Premier League title during Arne Slot's maiden campaign at Anfield as they claimed 25 top-flight victories and kept 14 clean sheets. But they were exposed time and time again during their clash with the Cherries, with Antoine Semenyo bagging a second-half brace to put his side within touching distance of claiming a surprise point. The Reds eventually saw off the south coast outfit courtesy of two late goals.

Bournemouth's equaliser arrived after Semenyo was allowed to run from the edge of his own penalty area and get a shot away on the edge of the Liverpool box.

Reds defender Ibrahima Konate backed off the forward in the build up to the strike and gave him the space to carve out a goalscoring opportunity.

And the Frenchman was subsequently slammed by Liverpool icon Carragher on Sky Sports as the former defender exclaimed: "What is Konate doing? He's been absolutely shocking tonight, Konate."

Konate could be the man to lose his starting place should Liverpool sign Guehi before the end of the summer transfer window, with the Merseyside club being linked with a £35million deal for the Crystal Palace player.

But Carragher went on to admit that he doesn't think a new centre-back would necessarily improve the team defensively. And he is concerned Slot's side will miss out on the title due to their current vulnerabilities.

"There is definitely a problem that Arne Slot has to solve," Carragher explained. "People say they need a centre-back - a centre-back doesn't fix that. He just takes Konate's place.

"It's about the make-up of the team with two attacking full-backs and a No. 10 who is more interested in getting on the ball than defending like [Dominik] Szoboszlai was last season. If Liverpool continue like that, I don't think they will win the league."

Liverpool may be forced to stump up more money than they would like to in order to secure Guehi's services, with Palace said to be demanding a higher transfer fee than the Reds are comfortable with.

But Slot's side may be willing to walk away from the deal, with the Dutchman already explaining that Ryan Gravenberch's return from suspension will give Liverpool the defensive stability they need.

"I do talk about a player who was not available last week and not this week," Slot said. "That's Ryan Gravenberch. Last season, he was very, very important in these moments."