A few thoughts on Trent’s potential role in midfield.
Klopp is trying to downplay this question for now, saying it has to do more with who we have available at RB etc, which I’m sure is partly true - when Bradley and Bajcetic are back and pushing for minutes at RB, it will be a lot easier to shift Trent to the middle than now when the only alternative is Gomez. Still, no matter what Klopp says, when or if it happens it will be a momentous decision that will have a lot of downstream effects throughout the side, some good and some rather problematic.
Personally I like the idea of keeping Macca or Endo at #6 to protect and complement Trent whose role as a midfield playmaker/controller lends itself to LCM in Klopp’s system, similarly to how Thiago played it. Trent at #6 will be way too disruptive; Trent at LCM will work and could even prove to be a revelation. Think of a far more mobile and agile Thiago who is also a goal-scoring threat and creates a lot more chances for teammates rather than just focuses on controlling the game. Yes, Trent still has a lot to learn about many aspects of midfield craft, but I think he will learn (and is already learning) extremely quickly because he clearly has a burning passion for it. The sooner any connection to his old RB role is severed, the quicker he will improve as a midfielder.
Unfortunately Trent’s permanent shift into midfield, if it happens, will mean we have probably bought one midfielder too many this summer and will be bad news for Gravenberch in particular. One upside of this reshuffling will be that our right side will probably be a lot more solid with Trent playing elsewhere; Bajcetic or Bradley will have enough energy and stamina to help out in midfield and cover at RB as necessary, so Szoboszlai will not need to do as much defensive work as he’s doing now. And yes, I think at this point Klopp will keep the hybrid role for whoever plays at RB; now I realize this is a tactical shift that’s not Trent-specific - “box midfield” is here to stay.
Another downside - and that’s going to be quite a headache for Klopp - is that Trent will need to roam all over the pitch in order to escape the man-markers and to create new angles for his passes. So that’s going to pull our midfield shape all over the place and all of the other midfielders will have to have superhuman positional instincts to make sure there are no giant holes in the formation whenever the ball is lost. Fortunately I think both Macca and Endo have good positional sense, which is why one of them will need to play alongside Trent at all times. I think Gravenberch + Trent is bad and Jones + Trent is probably meh. Still, incorporating a free-spirited playmaker into Klopp’s structured midfield set-up will be a huge challenge and something Klopp has never done before. I can understand why he will not jump into it until time is right and all the pieces are ready.
Potential formation and options:
————[RCB]————[LCB]————-
—-Bajcetic/Bradley/Gomez————[LB]
———-———Alexis/Endo——————
—-Szobo/Elliott——-Trent/Gravy/Jones-