Martin Keown hits out at Jurgen Klopp for denting Alberto Moreno’s confidence

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Martin Keown has criticised the manner in which Jurgen Klopp has dealt with the Alberto Moreno situation.

In his column for the BBC, former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has hit out at Jurgen Klopp for denting defender Alberto Moreno’s confidence.

Moreno has proved to be a divisive figure among the Liverpool fans since his £12 million move to Anfield from Sevilla two seasons ago.

Although Moreno is great going forward, the left-back has been suspect at the back and many labeled the 24-year-old as the biggest culprit in the Reds’ 3-1 Europa League final defeat against Sevilla last season.

Following the poor performance against Sevilla, there was a lot of speculation regarding Moreno’s future at Liverpool this summer but manager Klopp decided to keep hold of the Spanish international.

However, Moreno put in a simply atrocious performance in Liverpool’s opening day 4-3 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium and the defender has since not been handed a start, with midfielder James Milner filling in at left-back.

Klopp’s decision to field Milner at left-back seems a clear indication that he does not have faith in Moreno anymore and now former Arsenal defender Keown has criticised the German boss for denting the Spaniard’s confidence with the shock decision.

Keown wrote in his column for the BBC: “We currently have the best group of managers in the Premier League that I can remember, and Klopp is clearly one of them. In many ways his approach has been a breath of fresh air but that does not mean he gets everything right, even in areas that I regard as among his strengths.

“Klopp is a manager who improves his players, partly by boosting their self-esteem, and I thought that was what he was doing when he defended and protected Alberto Moreno following criticism last week.

“It was great to hear a manager say ‘look, he was not perfect but we can work on that and make it better’ – yet he then pulled the plug on Moreno and played James Milner at left-back against Burnley instead.

“That left me thinking that maybe Klopp is saying one thing to the media and another to his players. I don’t think the solution was to play Milner there and now he has dented Moreno’s confidence too.”