Liverpool snatched an important 1-0 Champions League victory against Inter Milan at the San Siro on Tuesday night, which eases pressure on manager Arne Slot, who many have called to be sacked in recent weeks.
The champions have been in poor form since the start of the season and whilst many point to Slot and even Mohamed Salah, Johnson has spoken to BetWright about how the problems go way back to the summer transfer window.
"Liverpool very rarely get it wrong with transfers, but for me, they got it wrong with the signing of Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez in the summer.
“I don’t want to be too harsh on new players or write them off, because it does take time for some to settle down at a big club like Liverpool, especially when coming from teams where there’s less pressure. But at the moment, they don’t look up to it."
"It’s strange, because Liverpool usually hit the nail on the head with these types of deals - so many statistics and data goes into their recruitment– but, for now, it looks as if they’ve got those deals wrong.”
Frimpong is working his way back from his second hamstring injury of the season whilst Kerkez still adapts to the system under Slot. Both have struggled since joining the Reds, especially when compared to Andrew Robertson and the departed Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Liverpool will be looking to translate their Champions League form to the clash against Brighton on Saturday where Kerkez will be aiming to prove the likes of Johnson wrong.