The midfield for Liverpool has been essentially nonexistent this year as Jürgen Klopp’s engine room grows sluggish, worn out, and experienced in comparison to previous years. Many of the Reds’ middle-dominating players from prior seasons have found it difficult to maintain the same high standards this season.
In six months, the contracts of James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Naby Keta will expire, necessitating their replacement. Additionally, Fabinho hasn’t appeared like himself lately, and players like Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, and Fábio Carvalho don’t seem quite ready to provide every three days at a consistent level.
Overall, Klopp will need to undergo a significant makeover in the next months. Because of this, it is somewhat understandable why some fans think Liverpool will require far more players than Jude Bellingham, the club’s main target, to address their issues on the field.
If he does really move to Merseyside, the Borussia Dortmund teenager appears certain to break records, with Liverpool devoting the vast majority of their transfer cash to securing his desired signature.
Bellingham looks like a generational talent, but is he worth signing instead of two or three players who are each worth a reasonable amount? It is certainly a debate worth having but upon inspection of the season so far, the BVB wonderkid looks like a one-man midfield to such an extent that his presence alone would surely do a lot for the Reds in the middle of the park.
Recent struggles against the ball have been the main cause of Liverpool’s woes. They have been too easy to get through on the defensive end of the field, with Klopp recently complaining that his players ‘didn’t win enough challenges’ in their poor FA Cup tie against Wolves.
Many of those issues appear to be ones that Bellingham can handle on her own. He currently holds the second-place spot overall in the Bundesliga for tackles and interceptions, and he holds the third-place spot for recoveries, which highlights his capacity to snag errant passes.
The Englishman has completed more tackles in the final third than any other player, making him a good fit for Klopp’s high-pressing style, and he has tackled 20 of the 25 players who have been involved.
The Englishman has completed more tackles than any other player in the final third, meaning he’s suited to Klopp’s high-pressing game, and he’s tackled 20 of the 25 players who have attempted to dribble past him, which suggests he’s solid when engaging in duels with opponents.
Bellingham is a huge force on the defensive end, and he contributes just as much on the offensive end. He has actually scored more goals than any other Dortmund player this season in all competitions, which is impressive given his role as a center midfielder who also handles additional duties.
Bellingham not only scores points but also presents a difficult opponent to deal with. Only five players in the German top division have completed more dribbles than him, and he leads the league in fouls committed, often forcing the opposition to bring him down to stop him.
With Joshua Kimmich of Bayern Munich leading the Bundesliga in progressive passes, the Liverpool target’s worth as a passer is evident, and Bellingham has proven his natural ability to execute it consistently over the past year.
In addition to his numerical advantages, he is the club captain at the age of 19, is physically fit at 1.86m tall, and is a homegrown player, which is a plus given that Milner and Oxlade-Chamberlain are both certain to leave Anfield this summer.
Bellingham is the ideal midfielder, and bringing him in to stabilize the center would be equivalent to bringing Virgil van Dijk in to stabilize Klopp’s defense earlier this year. Bellingham is almost like three players in one, but Liverpool will still need bodies in the upcoming months.