What Will The Liverpool Midfield Look Like Next Season?

What Will The Liverpool Midfield Look Like Next Season?

Change is afoot at Liverpool football club. After an underwhelming Premier League campaign in the 2022/23 season that saw them finish 5th in the table, manager Jurgen Klopp is in the process of overhauling their squad.

The main changes that have been levied on the team are coming in the heart of midfield. Players such as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arthur Melo and James Milner have all left the club, with Jordan Henderson and Fabinho looking likely to follow them.

Moreover, Liverpool have also added some new midfielders to their team – namely, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister. How will they fit into Jurgen Klopp’s system?

How different will the Liverpool midfield look compared to last season?

Klopp likes to play with a midfield three. He generally lines up his team to play with a defensive midfielder, a box-to-box player and a central midfielder who pushes forward and contributes to attacking moves.

Szoboszlai will likely occupy the attacking role, while the box-to-box position could be filled by Alexis Mac Allister – unless Klopp intends on using Szoboszlai as a winger, in which case the Argentinian will take on the attacking position.

Like last season, Harvey Elliot and Curtis Jones will probably be used as rotational options – however, they were both impressive last season, so it wouldn’t be too surprising to see them become first-team regulars.

Defensive midfield is where things get tricky. Assuming Fabinho leaves the club, the Reds will have just one player who can feature naturally in this position – 18-year-old Stefan Bajcetic. This will be a massive ask from such a young player, especially if Klopp cannot acquire a rotation option.

On top of this, Klopp does not seem to be done in the transfer market. The Reds are reportedly in pursuit of Romeo Lavia’s signature from Southampton – but they will face competition from Chelsea [via Sky Sports].

Has Jurgen Klopp made the right call in overhauling the midfield?

In our opinion, we feel this was a necessary – if extreme – measure to take. Last season, central midfield was clearly Liverpool’s biggest weakness, so it makes sense to try and fix this issue.

Despite this, the massive turnover of playing staff could prove to be an issue – especially under a coach such as Klopp, who demands a full understanding of his system from his players.

As such, Liverpool’s latest signings will need to adapt to Klopp’s high-pressing style as soon as possible, or the team could suffer as a result.

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