Liverpool now have plenty of options in midfield after the summer transfer window – which is the best combination for Jurgen Klopp?
For too long last season, the midfield would have given Jurgen Klopp countless sleepless nights.
Now, though, the Liverpool boss faces a different kind of headache given the options at his disposal in the engine room for the coming months.
The midfield overhaul that has seen the Reds splash out more than £150m on four new signings means there is a sense of the unknown with an area of the team that under Klopp has been pretty consistent in terms of personnel throughout the period when trophies were being accrued.
So what, though, is now the right combination for Liverpool in midfield? Our ECHO writers have their say…
Paul Gorst: Over the course of the coming months, I suspect Jurgen Klopp will adopt a horses-for-courses approach with regards to his midfield three. There will be times when the tenacious and defensive minded Wataru Endo will be required at the base of the midfield, while more expansive options will be called upon to break down teams sitting behind the ball.
Throw in the fact that Klopp has tactical flexibility to use four or three in there and the combinations are plentiful when you also consider the likes of Curtis Jones, Ryan Gravenberch, Harvey Elliott and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
It looks to be a new-look midfield that has been built with technical excellence as its most prized attribute, which is a break away from the hard-running, pressing machines of yesteryear.
So while there is not necessarily a ‘first choice’ midfield, if Liverpool were to play the Champions League final with a full complement of fit midfielders to choose from, here’s what I’d plump for…
Thiago Alcantara, for all his injury problems and fitness concerns, remains Liverpool’s best midfielder for me, so Klopp can use him at the base alongside Alexis Mac Allister in a sort of two-man pivot of technical quality.
Throw in the tireless and classy Dominik Szoboszlai ahead of them and that is a midfield teeming with poise and precision on the ball. So much so, in fact, that a more traditional destroyer might not be needed as much.
‘Klopp has rarely wanted a first-choice midfield’
Ian Doyle: Bad news for everyone who believes there could be a best starting midfield for Liverpool at present. There isn’t one. And it will be some time before that is revealed, even if Jurgen Klopp has forever pursued a horses-for-courses approach for his engine room.
Consider the next two games. At Wolves on Saturday week, it would be no surprise to see Liverpool stick with the three that started against Aston Villa last weekend, meaning Alexis Mac Allister as the defensive midfielder, Curtis Jones to his left and Dominik Szoboszlai to his right.
In the Europa League opener at LASK in Austria five days later, though, there will be changes. Wataru Endo can expect to feature as the six, with Harvey Elliott to his right. Which leaves one more berth, which will most likely go to latest signing Ryan Gravenberch. And that’s without even mentioning the injured Thiago Alcantara, the up-and-coming Bobby Clark and, of course, the fit-again Stefan Bajcetic, who may be eased back into action with minutes from the bench.
The latter pair may have to wait until the League Cup tie against Leicester City the following midweek for their first starts. It’s precisely the competition for places that proves why Klopp has rarely wanted a first-choice midfield.
Tom Cavilla: Ensuring key players remain fit will be the challenge for Liverpool, who have learned the hard way how difficult it can be to compete for the biggest prizes when key personnel are stuck on the sidelines.
Summer signings Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai have made instant impacts since joining the club and their performances to date make them go-to choices for Jurgen Klopp.
The departure of Fabinho has freed up a vacancy in the number six role, which no player is yet to nail down, leading to Klopp experimenting with who best suits this responsibility. Curtis Jones was trialled in this area during pre-season to limited success, and it was Mac Allister’s turn to take on the defensive duties on the opening weekend at Chelsea.
This may not be Mac Allister’s preferred position, though it may be where he has to stay for now as Liverpool prepare to welcome back Thiago Alcantara. The Spaniard’s quality makes him an individual, when fit, who simply has to start.
Ryan Gravenberch will be someone to gradually work into the team; Jones, Harvey Elliott and Stefan Bajcetic can make their mark from the bench.
Keifer MacDonald: Welcoming will be the sight at Molineux in under two weeks time when Jurgen Klopp is set to have his midfield ranks boosted further.
The arrival of Ryan Gravenberch on deadline day represented the final piece of a summer of change in the Anfield engine room as Alexis Mac Allister’s arrival in early June was followed by those of Dominik Szoboszlai and Wataru Endo.
Now, with the addition of four new midfielders, coupled with the return of Stefan Bajcetic and Thiago Alcantara after their prolonged spells on the treatment table, Klopp will certainly be able to employ his horses-for-courses approach after this September break.
But with all of those fit, what represents Liverpool’s best midfield?
Despite his injury-plagued career on Merseyside, Thiago Alcantara remains Liverpool’s best and most technical operator and will surely feature in the biggest games for Liverpool this season, injury permitting, as they look to challenge Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal at the top end of the Premier League.
Meanwhile, Dominik Szoboszlai’s eye-catching performances so early in his Anfield career make him a guaranteed starter for the Reds at the moment.
That leaves a final place at the base of the Reds’ midfield up for grabs, with Endo, Mac Allister and Curtis Jones all enjoying spells there in recent months. Bajcetic’s return to injury could see him propel himself back into Klopp’s reckoning if he is able to replicate the performances that saw him emerge as one of the few beacons of hope during a miserable year at Anfield last campaign.
In the meantime, though, until Gravenberch and Bajcetic have established themselves in the long-term, Mac Allister looks set to continue as Liverpool’s makeshift six.
One thing that is sure, though, is for the first time in a long time, Klopp and Liverpool find themselves with a plethora of options in the centre of the park.