Analyzing Liverpool’s midfield following the signing of Szoboszlai.

Dominik Szoboszlai’s singing has helped Liverpool to continue rebuilding their midfield. What the midfield looks like now with him and Alexis Mac Allister added raises the question of whether more acquisitions are required.

Less than three weeks have passed since the summer transfer window opened, but Liverpool has already made some significant moves to improve its underperforming midfield from the previous campaign. It seems like very good business to have signed Alex Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai for a combined £95 million, as both players are expected to play regular roles in the team for the foreseeable future.

Noel looked at the midfield math a few weeks ago to determine how many minutes Liverpool could reasonably look to distribute. Although Szoboszlai’s unexpected acquisition doesn’t alter the math, it might alter Liverpool’s midfield’s anticipated make-up. Let’s examine the makeup and depth of Liverpool’s midfield with eight active senior team members competing for three starting positions (plus one potential player returning from loan).

Left Box to Box Midfield.

The Players.

Curtis Jones, Thiago, and Alexis MacAllister.

The Summary.

Jürgen Klopp’s formation typically assigns a more controlling role to the left-sided eight, who is in charge of maintaining possession of the ball and advancing the play. When healthy, Thiago has demonstrated that he excels in this position thanks to his ability to hold off the press and make a decisive pass. The 32-year-old’s performance last season declined, and he again missed a significant portion of the campaign due to injury.

A run of games to end the season helped Curtis Jones, a young player who also missed a significant portion of it, finish strongly. By doing a lot of grunt work and dribbling the ball from box to box to supply the attackers, the 22-year-old Jones demonstrated just how strong of a player he can be in the system.

Although he might be introduced gradually to the team to begin the season, Alexis Mac Allister is anticipated to replace both Thiago and Curtis Jones. Even though the team may not appear to be particularly impressive, the 24-year-old World Cup winner should keep it moving. He is a more sophisticated version of Curtis Jones.

Right box to Box Midfield

The Players

Jordan Henderson, Harvey Elliott, and Dominik Szoboszlai.

The summary.

The right-sided eight for Liverpool typically plays a little more offensively while still defending the flank to free up Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah to do their respective jobs. Jordan Henderson has long held the primary position here, but as he ages and physically deteriorates, other players have been given more playing time. Henderson might spend more time playing the holding position as he transitions into a more rotational player at the position.

Harvey Elliott is the athlete who was regarded as Henderson’s obvious successor.
Last season, the 20-year-old made a strong start in the part before losing steam. Elliott is a great playmaker, but he lacks a lot of physicality and is more quick than fast. Nevertheless, he has shown himself to be a reliable player and is still developing.

Similar to the left side, Liverpool signed a player who is a few years older and more experienced than the youngster who previously played a key role. When Mohamed Salah is unavailable for the African Cup of Nations, Dominik Szoboszlai will likely overtake Elliott as the starting right midfielder on a consistent basis. However, he may also play further forward in that situation.

Holding Midfield.
The Players

Thaigo, Tyler Morton, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Stefan Bajcetic.

The summary.

Liverpool has improved both the left and right sides of their midfield, but the holding midfield position is still up for debate. Fabinho just finished a season in which he frequently struggled to keep up and appeared to be well behind the pace. He did appear better in the latter part of the campaign when Trent Alexander-Arnold sat next to him while in possession, relieving some of the pressure to allow Fabinho to play.

Stefan Bajcetic is a promising young player who made an impact in the Premier League in less than 600 minutes. He may have looked the part at age 18, but he is still very much a player who will probably need time to develop into a regular starting role with reliable performances. Although he is probably the position’s future starter, at this point he shouldn’t be counted on to do so every day.

Due to the creation of the position to play alongside Trent, two additional seasoned players could also add depth to the holding role. Jordan Henderson and Thiago have both played the holding position for Liverpool at various times. Despite the fact that it may not be their ideal job, they have both demonstrated that they are capable of performing well there when necessary. Particularly Thiago could be an intriguing option against low block teams, allowing two excellent playmakers in him and Trent Alexander-Arnold to control the game from the middle of the pitch.

The wild card of the group is Tyler Morton. The 20-year-old gained success with a successful loan with Blackburn last season after making a few appearances for Liverpool’s senior team two seasons ago. Although it would take a significant improvement for him to compete for regular playing time for Liverpool, he is a player to keep an eye on in the near future. Additionally, he wouldn’t count against the non-homegrown player cap, which might be a major plus for him this season.

Final Analysis.

Khéphren Thuram and Ryan Gravenberch’s rumored pursuits are probably over now that Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai have joined the team. No, he is not a holding midfielder; do not suggest this. At both box to box roles in the team, Liverpool currently has a nice mix of ages and levels of experience.

Only the holding role appears to be a candidate for additional strengthening. Jordan Henderson and Thiago would only provide momentary depth as Fabinho is nearing the end of his career. Really, Tyler Morton has the best chance of making the jump after a successful loan with Blackburn, but Stefan Bajcetic is the only player expected to play a bigger part in the team moving forward.

Manu Koné of Borussia Mönchengladbach and Roméo Lavia of Southampton are both holding midfielders who would give Liverpool a boost. Liverpool is reportedly interested in both of them. Sadly, Koné hurt his knee while competing for the France U21 team this summer, and Southampton is trying to get a king’s ransom for Lavia. Lavia would eventually be able to count as a homegrown player and would not count against the cap of non-homegrown players, but it seems unlikely that Liverpool would agree to a deal unless they could significantly reduce the cost.

Although a surprise holding midfield option isn’t ruled out if there are any more departures from the squad, I would not anticipate any more midfield additions at this time. It appears likely that Liverpool will either decide to sign a holding player next summer if Stefan Bajcetic doesn’t seem to fit the bill, or look to replace him as time goes on.