Liverpool's EFL Cup Victory Highlights Squad Concerns

Liverpool moved into the fourth round of the EFL Cup on Tuesday night, but the real story at Anfield sat beneath the scoreline. Andoni Iraola ripped up his weekend team sheet, made 10 changes from the side that drew with Fulham, and used Tottenham Hotspur’s visit to run a live audit on the fringes of his squad.

Some passed. Some survived. One or two may have edged closer to the exit.

Frimpong Exposed on a Big Night

Cup ties like this are usually a gift to squad players. A free swing, under the lights, in front of a home crowd that wants to be impressed. Trey Nyoni, James McConnell and Lewis Koumas all grabbed rare starts. Jeremie Frimpong did too, deployed at right-back in a role Iraola demands a lot from.

The manager loves his full-backs to fly. To stretch the pitch, to attack space, to pin wingers back. Frimpong, though, never really took off.

Going forward, he offered little. Spurs saw that weakness and went after him. Time and again they worked his flank, testing him with the pace and movement of Mathys Tel, Mohammed Kudus and Omar Marmoush. Over 90 minutes, it felt less like a learning experience and more like a targeted examination.

This is not a one-off concern. Since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2025 for £30m, the Netherlands international has struggled to convince in a red shirt. Sections of the fanbase have already turned on him at times over the last two seasons, frustrated by errors and underwhelming displays.

Right now, the hierarchy at right-back looks brutally clear. Ronald Araujo is Iraola’s first choice. Conor Bradley is on his way back from injury and expected to re-enter the conversation soon. Frimpong, for all that investment and attacking promise on paper, sits behind them, fighting not just for minutes but for credibility.

Within the club, he is widely viewed as one of the weaker links in the current squad. That perception carries weight. It also sharpens the question Liverpool still haven’t answered since Trent Alexander-Arnold left for Real Madrid: who is the long-term right-back that can come close to replicating his influence?

Right now, Frimpong doesn’t look like that solution. He looks like a project running out of time.

Endo Frozen Out

If Frimpong at least had the chance to play his way into the manager’s thoughts, Wataru Endo didn’t even get that.

On a night built for rotation, the 33-year-old never left the bench. Again.

Endo had already been left out of Liverpool’s 25-man Champions League squad last week, alongside Federico Chiesa, while younger options such as McConnell and Nyoni made the cut. That decision spoke loudly. The team sheet against Spurs turned up the volume.

With Iraola making 10 changes, with Liverpool cruising through the early rounds of the season, this looked like the perfect window to give the £16m midfielder some rhythm. Midfield, centre-back, anywhere. He had impressed at centre-back against Como in pre-season, showing versatility that could have been useful in a long campaign.

Instead, Iraola handed starts to 22-year-old McConnell and 19-year-old Nyoni. Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai both began on the bench, yet Endo still couldn’t find a route onto the pitch.

The manager has not hidden his stance. Speaking recently, Iraola admitted the competition in Endo’s role is fierce and that others are simply ahead of him in the pecking order.

“The problem is, in front of him in his position, I have a lot of players," Iraola said. "He’s competing against a lot of players because we are also giving minutes to Trey (Nyoni), Ryan (Gravenberch), Alexis (Mac Allister), Dom (Szoboszlai), players that I am selecting right now.

“But Wata is definitely a player that I like and for sure he will have his moments.”

The words are respectful. The reality is ruthless. If you cannot get onto the pitch in a heavily rotated EFL Cup tie at Anfield, with youngsters starting and senior midfielders on the bench, when exactly are those “moments” supposed to arrive?

Endo’s contract expires at the end of the season. This is Liverpool’s last real chance to recoup a fee, and all signs point towards the club exploring that option in January. Too many players are ahead of him. Too few minutes are available. Iraola clearly does not see him as part of the core group he wants to build around.

For Endo, for Liverpool, for a manager trying to sharpen his squad, the conclusion feels unavoidable. The next decisive move may not be on the pitch, but in the transfer window.