While Liverpool has ten senior midfielders this season, and has never had all of them fit and ready for action at the same time, there may be a ‘agreed’ first-choice trio – Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, and Thiago Alcantara.
The fact that Jurgen Klopp used such an engine room in last year’s Champions League final, rushing the latter two back from injury, would lend credence to this theory. However, while it appears to be the Reds’ greatest midfield on paper, recent evidence suggests otherwise.
Despite injuries over the last two and a half seasons, the three has only started 17 games together in midfield. There have been remarkable victories in such a small number, notably last season’s 4-1 win away at Everton.
There have been memorable wins in such a number, including last season’s 4-1 victory away at Everton and 4-0 victory at home to Manchester United, with them boasting 10 victories together.
They have only lined up together five times this season. Liverpool are unbeaten in those five games, although the Boxing Day triumph against Aston Villa was their first since overcoming Manchester City in the Community Shield in July. The Reds’ past three games have ended in shambolic, high-scoring draws against Fulham, Brighton, and now Wolves, where they have lost the midfield fight.
When the trio failed to impress against Real Madrid in Paris, acceptable reasons were made. After all, Liverpool had just finished the most rigorous season of its history, pursuing an unprecedented quadruple, and two of its players were injured.
Carlo Ancelotti remarked that night that the Reds were easy to play against. But it’s one thing when you’re up against Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, and Casemiro, and quite another when you’re up against a failing Wolves team.
Not good enough back then, and not good enough together now. And, unfortunately, by bringing in Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, and possibly Jude Bellingham as long-term successors for his own elite players, Ancelotti has once again underlined Liverpool deficiencies, albeit in a different way as the Reds have been caught standing still.
This season, Liverpool’s midfield difficulties have been well documented. They lack legs and end up chasing shadows, unable to win battles or cut open opposing defenses when they do acquire the ball.
This was painfully obvious in the Reds’ dreadful performance against Wolves on Saturday night, with Klopp himself criticising their shortcomings and role in both of the West Midlands outfit’s goals.
“There were a lot of occasions where we believed we were going to win the challenge, but now we’re completely open,” he told reporters after the final whistle. “How could that be? The challenge requires two or three players to move to the ball side when you arrive. If we don’t do that and are unable to escape, it appears that where are they?
“That meant they were always in the game. Anyway, we’re ahead 2-1. It wasn’t a free for all. Nothing much happened, but we kept losing these challenges centered on the second goal.
“We’re in possession, have the ball, but I don’t know why, we give the ball away. They are then placed in our box without being examined.
Then they go in our box without a real challenge. That’s difficult. The ball comes in and it’s difficult. It’s unlucky, Ibou is there but it hits Hwang and the ball rolls over the line. 2-2 is unlucky. That is the end result.
“We watch the game, and you see what happens. It makes no difference how you play; you must win challenges. There is no other option. It’s something I mentioned in the locker room and will mention again.
“Our next opponent is Brighton. Famous for playing traditional football. Why should we go there if we can’t defend properly? I recognize that it appears open at times, but it is only open because we believe we will win the tasks but do not. That becomes extremely difficult to deal with in the end.
Of course, such criticism isn’t limited to the midfield, but it has been a source of frustration for Liverpool this season. What a different story it could have been if they had been successful in convincing Tchouameni to choose Liverpool over Real Madrid last summer. What a difference it may make if they sign long-term target Bellingham.
Nonetheless, such attention demonstrates that Reds executives are well aware of their own team’s flaws. While the rarely seen Henderson x Fabinho x Thiago triad may be the strongest on paper right now, it won’t be once they move in the transfer window and begin this long-awaited midfield revamp.
It remains to be seen whether such a transformation can begin this month, with the January transfer window still open. To be sure, it’s easier said than done given that Liverpool’s first-choice targets appear to be out of reach right now, with the Reds preferring to wait for the right player rather than just filling the vacuum by acquiring a player right now.
Klopp, on the other hand, has stated that the £37 million signing of Cody Gakpo could have an impact on any future Liverpool business in January and that he does not intend to “splash the cash” in this month’s transfer window as a result. And, after last year’s quadruple push, club executives have been caught sleeping at the wheel.
So, what options do the Reds have? What is the solution if this first-choice trio isn’t the strongest, with elderly legs that appear to be spent? The best they have to offer wasn’t good enough against a mediocre Wolves team, so who should they turn to next?
When Liverpool has been in such difficult situations in the past, Klopp has looked to his trusted senior players, such as your Hendersons or James Milners, but the requisite standards collectively now appear to be beyond them.
Meanwhile, the Reds’ situation is too bleak and precarious to place such burdens on the tender shoulders of a young Harvey Elliott or Curtis Jones. They have frequently failed to give the desired legs when called upon.
As a result, it appears that Naby Keita is the only viable option. The Guinean has impressed in cameo appearances for Liverpool since the World Cup break, and he is a rare commodity at Anfield – a midfielder in his prime.
Nonetheless, the 27-year-injury old’s history is well-documented. Meanwhile, he is out of contract in the summer, with no indication that he would sign an extension. While he may be the man Klopp must turn to, such underlying variables ensure that any selection remains a gamble.
Even yet, there is nothing to suggest it will be profitable. When such a player is your final roll of the dice, and you use it
When such a player is your last throw of the dice, and you’re using it in January, midway through the season, it shows just how the Reds’ situation is far from ideal.
It’s ironic that, in a game where Liverpool’s current midfield deficiencies were on display, rumoured target Matheus Nunes almost scored a late winner for Wolves in his debut at Anfield. When he came in as a substitute, the Portuguese was called offside when he crossed it back in before Toti’s flicked finish. The goal was chalked out because VAR lacked the necessary angle to make their own judgement, leaving the visitors furious.
Nunes cannot be Liverpool’s solution until the summer, having already played for Sporting Lisbon this season before joining Wolves. Meanwhile, with Kopites enraged by this midfield situation and lack of proactive action, Reds executives are soon running out of options.
In the meantime, with Kopites themselves livid at this midfield plight and lack of responsive action, Reds bosses are quickly running out of places to look to salvage their season.
Liverpool requires reinforcements in the midfield. They require the legs in their engine room right now to recover their identity and ferocity. When Klopp said earlier this season that he wanted FSG to take more risks in the transfer market, he didn’t mean standing still with a broken engine. It’s gotten to the point where it’s simply reckless.
Fingers in ears and hands over eyes won’t stop what’s going on on the field. What Ancelotti saw in May is now evident to everyone as to what Klopp’s team is lacking and what is costing them games.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different outcomes, regardless of identity or intensity.
Every game, the Reds make the same mistakes while opposition teams make a mockery of them and tear away at their midfield.
A return to Henderson x Fabinho x Thiago did not address their difficulties against Wolves, just as it did not solve their problems earlier in the season against Brighton following a poor start to the season. It may not fare any better the next week. Such players, once champions of England, Europe, and the World, have been fantastic at Anfield, but on current evidence, their race is over. There will be no tomorrow.
Liverpool cannot progress in this manner, and as a result, they are increasingly likely to miss out on the Champions League. Sure, there are plenty of logical explanations for these business actions, but none of them will recompense them if they do not make the top four.
If FSG waits until the summer to bolster Liverpool’s midfield, their apparent optimism that Klopp’s presence will be enough to pull the Reds out of this hole and still qualify for the Champions League may be their undoing.