Liverpool have been one of the busier sides in the transfer market this summer, as Jurgen Klopp looks to revamp his aging side and improve on what was a disappointing 2022/23 season.
The area where Liverpool have done the majority of their business so far is in midfield, bringing in FIFA World Cup-winning Argentinean Alexis Mac Allister and Hungarian Dominik Szoboszlai for a combined £95m.
On top of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s move into midfield at the back of last season, Liverpool have plenty of depth in midfield.
Here is how they look most likely to line up in the middle if they persist with the 3-2-4-1 formation that many clubs seem to turn to when they have the ball.
Deep Midfield
Alexander-Arnold hit some of his best form for a long time in midfield for both England and Liverpool in recent months, although he had the luxury of a traditional right-back playing behind him for the Three Lions. He looks to be a certain starter for Jurgen Klopp on the right of a more traditional holding player. This is also a role that Thiago can comfortably play if fit, along with Curtis Jones.
Whilst Fabinho has been excellent for Liverpool since joining in 2018, he has started to show signs of decline which has led to Liverpool being linked with younger defensive midfielders like Romeo Lavia from Southampton and Khephren Thuram from Nice.
Either of these players would be excellent additions for Liverpool and the opportunity for them to learn under more experienced players would be vital over the course of a long season.
Jordan Henderson looks likely to play less minutes than previous seasons and is getting on in age, but would also be a useful squad option for Jurgen Klopp to have to protect his defence.
Attacking Midfield
The two attacking midfield players to play in behind the striker will almost certainly be Szoboszlai and Mac Allister, two players who will provide a good mix of offensive qualities for The Reds.
Mac Allister is excellent at keeping the ball and playing accurate shorter passes whilst Szobozslai is more of a risk taker when he gets closer to goal – he has a powerful long range shot and will happily take a defender on in order to test the goalkeeper.
Liverpool will also be able to rely on Thiago and Jones to play in these advanced roles on top of the deeper midfield positions that they can also cover, so it will be interesting to see if Jurgen Klopp chooses to use versatile Dutchman Cody Gakpo in the number ten position in some scenarios.
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