Arne Slot axed Liverpool star who is perfect for Andoni Iraola

Arne Slot's time as Liverpool's manager was fairly mixed.

He won the Premier League title during his first season in charge but then, just a year later, he was relieved of his duties.

Most fans wanted his sacking to occur months earlier but, Fenway Sports Group chose to stick by him and, luckily, he managed to get his men to qualify for the Champions League.

His fifth-place finish was clearly miles away from where Liverpool actually needed to be which is why Andoni Iraola was brought in.

And, while a lot of people thought his time at Anfield would be smooth-sailing, there are still a lot of changes he needs to make before his team are properly ready to compete for silverware again.

The main issues that need to be rectified are the performances of some players with the January transfer window the best way for them to fix the issues that they're suffering with.

But, while Slot was in charge, he had the answer to one of Iraola's main problems but, instead of keeping him around, he chose to move him on with fans now wondering why that decision was ever made.

Liverpool must figure out what they're doing with their midfield

Liverpool's main problem area among their first-team squad at the moment is their midfield.

They currently have four options to choose from as their number sixes and, while Alexis Mac Allister and Trey Nyoni have put in some solid performances, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch have both failed to do the same.

The duo were the two midfielders offered long-term contracts by FSG last season with each of them being handed bumper new deals.

Clearly, Liverpool expected them to be their regular midfield duo but, that has been far from the case.

Mac Allister and Nyoni have both performed far better than their teammates and, it feels like they should have been the ones given new contracts instead.

However, that isn't what happened and now, Iraola and Julian Ward seem to be stuck between a rock and a hard place.

So many positions within Liverpool's squad still need upgrading but, if Slot and Richard Hughes had kept one player they sold in the 2025-26 summer window, they'd have one less position to worry about.

Tyler Morton would have been perfect for Andoni Iraola

As mentioned, Liverpool's clear-out last season was taken differently depending on who you asked.

Some people believed that selling players such as Luis Diaz, Tyler Morton and Jarell Quansah was the best thing to do.

But, looking back now, all three of them had incredible campaigns last season and each of them would have been a huge help to Slot.

And, of the lot, Morton is probably the one that Liverpool wish they didn't let go, especially since he's the perfect defensive midfielder for Iraola's system.

Not only can he win duels, keep his line and add extra stability to a team but, he can also create chances and score them if needed.

Alongside all this, he's also a really hard-working central midfielder so, the fact that each of these skills line up perfectly with Iraola's system is a real kick in the teeth.

Obviously, what's done is done and these things can't be changed now but, in hindsight, selling a Liverpool-born midfielder who wanted nothing else but to play for his childhood club was maybe not the Reds' best idea.

That is, especially when they already knew that their midfield was going to be a problem for them.