Former Liverpool striker John Durnin has called on manager Jurgen Klopp to play Mamadou Sakho if he is fit and the need arises as he believes the Reds are not going to win the title if they play Lucas Leiva in defence.
Klopp, whose team spectacularly lost 4-3 to Bournemouth at the weekend, despite being 3-1 up by the 75th minute, deployed Lucas as a centre-back alongside Dejan Lovren, with Joel Matip missing the game with an injury.
On the other hand, Sakho is yet to make a senior appearance for Liverpool in the present campaign as he has been frozen out of the first team picture by Klopp, something made worse by his outburst against the German tactician on social media.
However, Durnin feels it would have been better if Klopp had used Sakho instead of Lucas against Bournemouth as he underlined the importance of fully utilising the squad and using players in their right positions, especially if Liverpool want to win the title.
“We’re not going to win the title, not because of the goalkeepers as they are just half the problem”, he said on Radio City Talk.
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“The defence! You bring in Lucas, who has been a great servant and he has done well when he has played there.
“But he’s not good enough, we won’t win the league if we play Lucas at the back.
“I have got this theory – I know Sakho’s out of the window, but you use players as much as they use you.
“And if Sakho is fit, throw him in, he has proved himself in that position.
“Lucas is not good enough if you want to win the title, you bring Sakho in, make him to a job because he has to prove himself to the manager to try and get back in again.
“If the manager is not happy, use him for the game and then bomb him out again.
“For me, you have to use the whole squad and use players in their right positions.”
Sakho, who joined Liverpool from Paris Saint-Germain in 2013, has been linked with a move away from Anfield during the January transfer window.
