Liverpool boss Arne Slot has as good as ‘admitted his squad is not strong enough’ and has been told where he’s gone wrong with Florian Wirtz.

Defeat to Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup made it six defeats in seven for the reigning Premier League champions, and Slot was criticised after the game for ceding the tie by playing the kids.

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Afterwards, the Dutchman bemoaned the lack of?depth in his squad compared to rivals.

“I saw [Manchester] City’s line-up and I don’t think they had one starter from the weekend but it felt as if – if you look at their line-up – that they had played with their 11 starters,” Slot said.

“Maybe that gives a little bit of an insight that everybody has always said how big of a squad we have. When we played Chelsea I said they are missing eight but they can still bring Estevao in.

“We are only missing four players at the moment and already we needed to start with four players under the age of 19. After I made two substitutions we were on six.”

Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock believes Slot’s comments show his frustration at the club’s summer business, despite the Reds manager’s insistence to the contraryahead of their game with Aston Villa on Saturday.

“Arne Slot has almost admitted there that the squad is not strong enough,” the former Liverpool full-back said on BBC Radio 5 Live. “It was very much deflecting and making excuses.

“You’re a team in the Champions League, yet you’re moaning that you’re playing a game two days later. You know that is going to happen. I felt there were a lot of excuses in there. You know your squad depth isn’t the best, then your business hasn’t been good enough in the summer.”

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Florian Wirtz could return to the starting lineup for the Aston Villa clash having failed to convince following his ￡100m move from Bayer Leverkusen.

Joe Cole believes Liverpool’s poor form is not down Wirtz or any one individual, but believes the Germany international may have benefitted from being eased into the Reds team amid his struggle to adapt to the pace and physicality of the Premier League.

“Yes, Florian Wirtz’s signing has disrupted the Liverpool midfield, but not in a way that can be laid at Florian Wirtz’s feet,” said Cole.

“There’s no doubt he’s a top player. You don’t play number 10 for Germany, and win the league over in the Bundesliga, and produce what he did at Bayer Leverkusen, without being quality. We know he’s quality, and he’s shown it in flashes.

“Don’t lay the blame on the four players coming in, or the four players coming out, or the manager, it’s just a collection of everything.

“In hindsight, if Liverpool could do a restart of the season, they’d have probably put one or two players into the team, and we’ll keep with what we’re doing, and just gradually change it.

“By January, you’ll start looking to get Wirtz into the squad, into the team regularly, giving the time to come off the bench.

“Whether he’s the right player for Liverpool or the Premier League, he’s going to have to prove that. He can’t shy away from that. There are certain players, good players, who go to clubs, and they just don’t fit.”