Four Liverpool players in Shearer's team of the season so far with two omissions

Four Liverpool players named in Alan Shearer's team of the season so far with two big omissions

Premier League great Alan Shearer named three Liverpool stars in his Team of the Season so far - but there are three mistakes that need addressing

Bookmark

Liverpool are already getting to that stage of the season where their best are being singled out from the rest. Premier League icon Alan Shearer is the one to kick us off, naming his Team of the Season come the time of the November international break.

The 2024/25 campaign has been little short of spectacular for the Reds. Tipped to get off to a stuttering start under new head coach Arne Slot, the Dutchman has actually picked up perfectly from Jurgen Klopp's finish by taking the team five points clear in the English top-flight, they also lead the Champions League's revamped standings and continue their quest to retain the League Cup.

Many expected it to be Manchester City and Arsenal once again dominating the headlines though they are currently being punished for being off the boil. None of their players have been recognised by the Premier League's all-time top goalscorer as he locks in his selections after 11 matches.

As can be seen, it is Shearer's choice to make four of his eleven players those belonging to Liverpool. They are Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ryan Gravenberch.

Their recognition deserves to be celebrated for now as, after all, it will mean little come the end of the season were the quartet here and the rest of their team-mates not to get their hands on the trophy. But the two questions cannot be helped being asked, are they deserved choices? Or have any other Reds been omitted?

A statistician may say they are lucky to make a team of such high esteem. According to WhoScored's average ratings system, only Van Dijk should make the cut. They suggest Manchester United's Noussair Mazraoui has performed to a higher standard at right back, and an altered formation allows Arsenal's Bukayo Saka, Manchester City's Erling Haaland plus Tottenham duo James Maddison and Son Heung-min to enter the Team of the Season to date.

Frankly that sounds bizarre, though Shearer too has also made three noticeable errors when he kickstarted this debate.

Anybody who has watched Liverpool play this season knows there are two pieces of Slot's machine that, if taken out, would likely see it all collapse.

The first is Luis Diaz. When it is not Salah on the right flank taking up the mantle of talisman, it has been Diaz boasting a confidence supporters have not been privy to since he joined for the tail end of the 2021/22 season.

The Colombian has nine goals - five of those in the English top-flight - and two assists so far this term as he looks a completely changed man to the one who raced one-on-one with the goalkeeper against Man City at Anfield in March last season and blazed wide in front of the Anfield Road. His extremely catchy chant has been the kindling for many fine team performances already this term, just to stamp home the point that none of this so far would have been capable without Diaz in the side.

The other is Ibrahima Konate. When it is not 'he came to score, score, score' leaving the lips of Reds fans in the stands, it is because they are roaring 'Ibou' every single time the defender heads the ball, makes a clearance or dispossesses his opponent. He has been imperious at the back and to leave him out shows just how criminally underrated he is, even after three years as a Premier League player, but maybe that comes down to injury troubles he must now avoid.

That said, it also proves just how difficult a task selecting a team of the most in-form players is. It can't all be Liverpool as there are clubs like Brentford, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest rightfully recognised for their early-season achievements.

A solution to allow Diaz into Shearer's team is a more complex one to argue. The ex-Newcastle United star has opted to shove Salah to the left wing to accommodate Bryan Mbeumo on the right, who as the league's second-top scorer alongside Salah, can hardly be chucked aside. Saying put Salah up front in place of Chris Wood is also a rogue suggestion as he is on the same tally for a Forest side currently competing with Champions League hopefuls.

Konate, on the other hand, has a clearer path into the Team of the Season so far - even if it means making the highly controversial decision to boot one his Reds alumni.

As much of an impact Nikola Milenkovic has had at Forest, he stands no chance against the central defensive duo with the most clean sheets on their record. Konate can take his place in his correct position, but there is cause to suggest the East Midlands side do deserve a defensive candidate in this team.

Introduce Ola Aina, who at Anfield in September produced one of his team's performances of the season to help the visitors to inflict the only defeat of the Slot era to date. From what can be gathered, similar performances against Chelsea and West Ham plus four clean sheets in total make him one of the league's stand-out performers.

And that lastly brings us to Trent Alexander-Arnold. A defensive reshuffle of Shearer's XI leaves no place for the man soon to be out of contract at Liverpool, due to no fault of his own really but for the performances of others.

It is a difficult decision to quantify but one that seems to make sense with the 26-year-old, like Konate and Van Dijk, putting in excellent defensive displays against some of the league's so-called best wingers. With only one league assist across his 11 outings there is just that sense that he has lost an edge to his game that he became so recognisable for.

Story Saved
You can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.