Jamie Carragher believes fledgling defenders Andre Wisdom and Martin Kelly have all the raw attributes to forge successful careers at the heart of Liverpool’s rearguard — and potentially even make a bigger impact at the club than him.
With the 35-year-old set to hang his boots up at the end of this season, Carra feels the duo have the potential to perform a similar role to the one he has done so successfully for the Reds over the last 15 years.
“You look at Andre Wisdom and Martin Kelly particularly,” he told the official Liverpool FC matchday program. “It’s mainly because they are young center-backs that have gone into the team playing fullback to gain experience.
“It’s very hard to go straight into any Premier League team and play in the middle immediately. But they’ve done very well over the last 12 to 18 months. I’m very confident that they could play centre-back for Liverpool once they have the experience.
“Being physically stronger and quicker, if they can learn the game they can maybe have a bigger impact at the club than myself.”
Wisdom recently admitted Carragher has been one of the biggest influences on his career, revealing he studies the manner in which the vice-captain applies himself in training at Melwood every day.
So does Carra deliberately make an effort to set an example for youngsters?
“It’s not something I’ve ever really thought about in my own mind,” he considered. “It’s just the way I am. I would never do something for effect or to impress somebody. I’m just fortunate that’s the way I am. I couldn’t be any different. It’s not like I go into training some days and think, ‘You know what, I’m going to have a go today.’ I’m just quite competitive.
“If we have a five-a-side game or a game of possession at the end, I want to win. I was like that as a kid and I think if I played on for another four or five years I’d be the same.”
