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Jamie Carragher Says Liverpool Should’ve Tried to Sign Declan Rice
Liverpool, after winning the Premier League in Arne Slot‘s sophomore season (2024/25) with four matches to spare, have struggled to match their title-winning form this time around and Jamie Carragher has named a ‘fantastic’ player – who joined their domestic rivals instead – he wishes the Reds had signed years ago.
Not afraid to plaster his opinions, whether you agree with them or not, on social media and in the media sphere, Carragher’s made-for-consumption personality has established him as one of the best football pundits on television, though that does always come with a certain affinity towards the Reds.
Understandably, a club he played 737 times for throughout his playing days will always be kept close to his heart – but the centre-back-turned-pundit recently insisted that Liverpool should’ve been quicker to recruit in the summer of 2023 when one of the finest players in England’s top flight moved for top dollar.
Jamie Carragher Names Rival Player Liverpool Should’ve Signed in 2023
Throughout the Jurgen Klopp era, Liverpool’s recruitment was forward-thinking and sharp: the Merseyside club tended to shy away from coughing up lots of money for players, but that has somewhat changed in recent years. In fact, the summer just gone saw the arrivals of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak for mega money, while Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez were also added to the squad to improve their strength in the full-back positions.
This summer, however, should be spent revitalising the Liverpool engine room in the eyes of Carragher. “Curtis Jones and Alexis Mac Allister are really good players, but it ends up with two or three players who do not have great physicality in there,” he said before comparing Liverpool’s midfielders to that of Arsenal’s Declan Rice.
“The one who stands out every time I watch him play is Declan Rice. What a player, honest to god. That’s exactly what Liverpool need. For me, he is the modern-day Roy Keane. I don’t think he’s a Stevie Gerrard, because Stevie was more attacking. Roy did a bit of everything; press high, get the ball off the back four, everything. Declan has the set pieces, too.
“I actually don’t think we still give him enough praise,” the former defender said. “It always feels like there’s a but with him. His passing is fantastic. No one can run past him. His set-piece delivery is as good as anything in European football.”
Carragher then sighed, according to The Athletic, after remembering that Liverpool didn’t go full steam ahead when he was leaving West Ham United in the summer of 2023. Arsenal, instead, shelled out north of £100 million for the Englishman – who is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders in world football – and he’s been a revelation since.
“Why Liverpool didn’t go for him… the summer he was available (when Arsenal bought him from West Ham in July 2023), was the summer we were going to get rid of (veteran midfield duo) Jordan Henderson and Fabinho.
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25/26 Premier League Stats – Rice vs Liverpool Midfielders |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Statistic |
Declan Rice |
Alexis Mac Allister |
Curtis Jones |
Ryan Gravenberch |
|
Minutes |
1879 |
1466 |
1087 |
1850 |
|
Goals/Assists |
4/3 |
0/2 |
0/1 |
4/2 |
|
Shots per Match |
1.5 |
1.4 |
0.7 |
1.1 |
|
Pass Success Rate (%) |
89.3 |
86.7 |
92.1 |
90.3 |
|
Tackles per Match |
1.8 |
1.1 |
1 |
1.7 |
|
Key Passes per Match |
1.9 |
0.7 |
0.8 |
1.1 |
|
Overall Rating |
7.33 |
6.47 |
6.53 |
7.03 |
“My argument at the time was you buy one player (in Rice) to replace two, because he could do both the Fabinho role and also the Henderson one, pressing high, as he shows for Arsenal. Oh god, I’d have loved to have got him in a Liverpool shirt. For me, he’s Player of the Year this year, especially if Arsenal win the league. Then he will get the real love he deserves, and hopefully he will go and have a great World Cup (with England), too,” Carragher concluded.
Just How Good is Declan Rice?
To get the clear and obvious out of the way: Rice, 27, is up there with the very best central midfielders on the planet. Upon his cross-London switch two-and-a-half years ago, he operated as a more traditional holding midfielder – but his box-to-box presence has been lapped up by Mikel Arteta and the Emirates Stadium faithful. He’s taken his game to another level with Arsenal and England being the primary beneficiaries of his transition.
Martin Zubimendi‘s arrival from Real Sociedad in the summer just gone has allowed the former Chelsea academy prospect to maraud further forward and join up on delivering balls into the box and latching onto the end of passes into the box.
While there is no argument of his status in the Premier League, there are plenty of other engine room patrollers in world football who can rival the ex-West Ham captain. Should he spearhead England to 2026 World Cup glory this summer, nobody could have qualms over his name in the conversations.
20 Best Midfielders in the Premier League Right Now (2026)
Florian Wirtz, Bruno Fernandes and Martin Odegaard all feature in the Premier League’s top 20 midfielders right now.
An indispensable figure under Arteta and his entourage, Rice is one of the main driving forces behind his side’s title push this season and the parameters beyond the eye test prove that he is capable of going toe-to-toe with the creme de la creme. Silverware, of course, is missing from the midfielder’s trophy cabinet, but his all-round ability cannot be ignored.
All statistics per WhoScored – correct as of 28/01/2026
