Jurgen Klopp's decision to let defender leave during January can cost him the title, says Chris Sutton

What's the news?

The former England international, Chris Sutton believes that Jurgen Klopp's decision to let Nathaniel Clyne leave on loan during January can damage Liverpool's chances of winning the Premier League.

In case you didn't know...

Liverpool did not lift the league title since 1990, however, there is a big chance for them to finally end their drought this season. The Reds are currently at the top of the Premier League table and are three points clear of their closest rivals, Manchester City.

However, the Reds faced a defensive crisis in the recent months and are currently without Dejan Lovren, Joe Gomez and Trent Alexender-Arnold. Fabinho and James Milner were forced to play out of position, which massively affected the Reds gameplay.

On the other hand, Nathaniel Clyne recently returned from a long term injury and Jurgen Klopp loaned him to Bournemouth during January to revive his career.

The heart of the matter

Chris Sutton believes that Jurgen Klopp made a poor error of judgment by allowing Nathanial Clyne to join Bournemouth on loan last month.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live:

“I feel sorry for Milner who’s playing out of position but that’s a consequence of the manager’s decision to let Clyne go to Bournemouth.

“That’s a huge decision which may well have a big bearing in this title race.”

Sutton also bashed Naby Keita for his performance against West Ham United

“They paid a lot of money for Keita so on that basis you’re asking somebody to do their job in that moment and when the free kick was materializing and it was popped to [Robert] Snodgrass and at the point he’s making the pass, Antonio had already made his run but Keita has to see that.

“I don’t understand how he doesn't see that really.

“It’s a poor error of judgment from a player who he invested a lot of money in.

“You expect more from Keita, more from Lallana and that is the difference with Liverpool.

What's next?

After failing to register a win in their last two league games, the Reds will be looking forward to returning back into the winning ways when they play Bournemouth at Anfield on February 9.