Gary Neville has criticized Liverpool's "bizarre" transfer activity this summer, leaving Arne Slot with a squad lacking defensive depth.

Gary Neville expressed shock that Liverpool could sell Gakpo to Manchester City for £85 million, and questioned why the Reds have yet to sign a left-back and a defensive midfielder, believing this shortfall will cause Liverpool to "concede many goals."

Gary Neville said on his podcast: "It's bizarre. The speculation about Gakpo potentially leaving continues. I know Barcola could be arriving, but Gakpo still looks like their best forward. I think he's a huge threat."

"Players like him sometimes don't get enough recognition. He's always involved in attacks, and you should never underestimate a player like that. He does a lot of unseen work, but he's always coming back, always wanting the ball, and always on the pitch. He can score and create chances, perhaps not in huge numbers, but this type of player is very difficult to replace."

"When your main rivals want to pull him away from you, I always feel that's something to be concerned about. I don't think they can afford to lose him."

"But the strangest thing is they still haven't signed a full-back, neither left nor right. Kerkez and Frimpong look like ideal wing-backs in a five-at-the-back system. This squad looks more suited to playing with three centre-backs."

"If they play with a back four, and Kerkez and Frimpong play as full-backs without a defensive midfielder, Liverpool will concede an awful lot of goals."

"In their two losses to Forest, the right-back was nowhere to be found in the first defeat; in the second loss, he let his man get past him in a throw-in defensive situation when he should have been marking him tight. He doesn't have natural defensive instincts."

"We've criticized Trent Alexander-Arnold's defensive ability. In this context, Trent's defending is significantly better than Frimpong's, and he used to provide 15 to 20 assists per season. I don't think Frimpong can do that."

"Kerkez doesn't seem fully settled yet. Earlier last season, I even thought he looked like an academy player playing left-back for Liverpool, but that's not the case—he's a very good player. But they can't have both of these players as full-backs and expect not to concede goals."

"I'm not sure what's happening with their transfer business. I think they're short of defenders. I think they've put Slot in a very difficult position. I know he seems like a gentleman and always comes across that way in interviews, but if I were him, I'd be demanding they make some moves in the next 48 hours, because this will damage him."

"If these two players operate as full-backs in a traditional four-defender system, combined with their current midfield, they will concede a lot of goals."

"They have some really exciting attacking players. If they add a defensive midfielder and two strong full-backs, they'd have a real chance."

"But the lack of signings at left-back and central midfield is holding them back. They need to do something."

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