Daniel Agger has been a player under the spotlight for the last couple of days. Firstly it was said that the Danish defender wanted to leave Liverpool if he was not going to get back into the starting lineup. But then Agger himself was quick to quash that speculation when he tweeted, “Please stop all the tweets about me leaving! I’m not going anywhere! Will be back in the team soon:) Y.N.W.A.”
So it is no surprise that Brendan Rodgers spoke out today at his Arsenal pre-match press conference about Agger’s future at the club and what the current position is with the defender. Rodgers said:
“I’ve reassured him and Daniel is one that understands fully the situation.
“He’s like every player, of course, and he wants to play and he’s a top player.
“He’s training remarkably well. It’s obviously been difficult because since he came out of the team with that injury against Southampton, the team has done very well.
“It’s something he understands and he’s come in [to training], has a smile on his face and is working exceptionally well.
“That’s what we need because it’s going to be the whole squad that allows us to succeed – and he’s a player that respects the decision.
“He’s fighting and waiting for that moment, and when he does get back in he’ll be in there to fight to keep his place.”
One thing is for sure now, Agger is staying at Liverpool and is still very much in Rodgers’ plans. All the defender needs to do is wait for his opportunity to get back into the side and prove himself.
In seasons gone by, a fit Agger would have been one of the first names in the Liverpool starting lineup but following the arrival of Sakho and Toure this season, Agger faces extra competition. If one were to look at the current three man central defence that Liverpool is using, Agger would most likely slot in on the left side of the back three, a position that French new boy Sakho is taking up. Now for Agger to displace Sakho is going to be difficult right now as Sakho is looking like a very good buy and is getting better and better with every game he is playing.
Phil Thompson has suggested that maybe Rodgers should deploy Agger as a left back in the current 3-5-2 formation the Reds are playing. That suggestion has been met with mixed responses from the fans and personally I do not see Rodgers opting to go that route. We all remember how horribly it went wrong against Southampton when he opted to start with four centre backs! Playing central defenders as wing backs is not a good idea and we must learn from that mistake.
One wonders why Barcelona wanted to sign agger not sakho. They must lack the wisdom of Brendan Rogers who learned his trade at famous Swansea
I wonder how long must Agger continue to wait for his chance ? It must be very frustrating for Agger to be not playing.