After the summer much has been made about Klopp's perceived failure to strengthen the midfield. Borussia Monchengladbach refused to sell Dahoud, the long-running interest in Zielinski never materialized and we also didn't make moves for Roma's Paredes and Inter's Medel after scouting both players extensively. Now it looks like Dahoud might be available in January or next summer, given that the current Gladbach boss doesn't seem to trust him (Man City and Juve are also said to be interested). However, things have changed at LFC as well since the summer and maybe we need to reassess whether we really have space for another midfielder. Let's take a look at what we have:
First team:
So to summarize, assuming Milner doesn't stay at LB forever, we now have 6 or 7 midfielders who can be roughly described as "senior" or "first team", 3 of whom can play as the "anchor" of the midfield (Hendo, Can and Stewart) and up to 6 (including the aforementioned Hendo and Can and also Grujic) can play in the more attacking CM positions. Right below that, there are 4 or 5 youngsters who all seem to have a bright future and will be increasingly pushing for their chances. That's quite a crowded field, isn't it? So do we need another midfielder?
Dahoud is turning 21 in January, which is just a year or two ahead of the crop of promising young players we have coming from the reserves – however he does have an advantage of establishing himself as a first-team player in a pretty strong team last season. His playing style is somewhere between Henderson and Wijnaldum – he covers a lot of ground, connects the play with simple short passes, has a good eye for assists and as a bonus has an excellent long-range shot and also a cat-like first touch. Still at 21 I wouldn't expect him to break into our first team right away.
Same goes for Paredes who is more of an anchor/playmaker type and has made 4 league starts so far for Roma (a bit hard to break through Strootman and De Rossi). Gary Medel has been starting all games for Inter, until he got a 3-game suspension for hitting someone with an elbow. Another potential target – @KayAgeEl's teenage dream Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has actually started pretty well at Southampton, so if we want to drink from the same well again, he would be another decent option. Or we can just stick with what we have – after all bar Milner all our midfielders are pretty young and should get better as they mature. What do you guys think, is buying a midfielder a priority any more?
First team:
- Jordan Henderson, 26 – club captain, described as a "complete midfielder" by Xabi Alonso a few days ago. He has surprised even his fans (like myself) by slotting in seamlessly in the DM/DLP position, keeping Emre Can out of the team. Leads the league in successful passes.
- Emre Can, 22 – rejuvenated under Klopp and made the DM position his own last season. Still has some shortcomings and inconsistency to iron out of his game, but his potential is very high both in terms of his physicality, technique and character. May need to reinvent himself as a more attack-minded player if Henderson stays at DM.
- Georginio Wijnaldum, 25 – arrived as a jack-of-all-trades, but so far settled in midfield and is steadily winning over the fans with his quiet, but highly efficient work at making the passing play tick. Versatile and tactically astute enough to play either in midfield 2 or 3. There could be more to come from him in an attacking sense once he settles in.
- Adam Lallana, 28 – made the transition from the wing to an attacking CM this season, which seems to suit him very well. Where Wijnaldum adds intelligence and control, Lallana adds energy and thrust – and now goals as well.
- James Milner, 30 – our best assists man last season, now successfully reinvented himself as a left-back. Will he go back into midfield if we buy a specialist LB next summer? I wouldn't bet against it; he might not start all the games, but Klopp has always valued having an experienced midfielder around.
- Kevin Stewart, 23 – Klopp described him as "the best challenger in the squad" on Tuesday, by which I guess he meant the best tackler or best at winning 50/50 duels. Seems like he will be valuable squad member in this narrow role of a defensive midfield specialist, essentially replacing Lucas who is now mainly a CB.
- Marco Grujic, 20 – too early to say if he's going to be more of a DM or a box-to-box player, but he is clearly an exciting talent for the future
- Ejaria, 18
- Brannagan, 20
- Chirivella, 19
- Alexander-Arnold, 18
- Allan (on loan at Hertha), 19
So to summarize, assuming Milner doesn't stay at LB forever, we now have 6 or 7 midfielders who can be roughly described as "senior" or "first team", 3 of whom can play as the "anchor" of the midfield (Hendo, Can and Stewart) and up to 6 (including the aforementioned Hendo and Can and also Grujic) can play in the more attacking CM positions. Right below that, there are 4 or 5 youngsters who all seem to have a bright future and will be increasingly pushing for their chances. That's quite a crowded field, isn't it? So do we need another midfielder?
Dahoud is turning 21 in January, which is just a year or two ahead of the crop of promising young players we have coming from the reserves – however he does have an advantage of establishing himself as a first-team player in a pretty strong team last season. His playing style is somewhere between Henderson and Wijnaldum – he covers a lot of ground, connects the play with simple short passes, has a good eye for assists and as a bonus has an excellent long-range shot and also a cat-like first touch. Still at 21 I wouldn't expect him to break into our first team right away.
Same goes for Paredes who is more of an anchor/playmaker type and has made 4 league starts so far for Roma (a bit hard to break through Strootman and De Rossi). Gary Medel has been starting all games for Inter, until he got a 3-game suspension for hitting someone with an elbow. Another potential target – @KayAgeEl's teenage dream Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has actually started pretty well at Southampton, so if we want to drink from the same well again, he would be another decent option. Or we can just stick with what we have – after all bar Milner all our midfielders are pretty young and should get better as they mature. What do you guys think, is buying a midfielder a priority any more?
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