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We highlight five players who could step into Fabinho’s shoes after it became apparent that he would leave Liverpool and join the Saudi Pro League as the latest well-known athlete to do so.

As Fabinho gets closer to joining Saudi Pro League team Al Ittihad, Liverpool find themselves in a bit of a pickle.

The Brazilian player joined Liverpool in 2018 from AS Monaco and has since played 219 times for the club. He has earned the nicknames “Dyson” and “The Lighthouse” for his keen eye for the game and ability to launch counterattacks. Throughout his five years on Merseyside, Fabinho has aided the group in capturing every major trophy they have faced off for.

Although he has not travelled to Germany with the 32-man squad to continue preseason training, his time etching himself into the fabric of the club’s history appears to be coming to an end as Anfield officials consider an offer thought to be in the neighborhood of £40 million.

There are a lot of unanswered questions regarding what Liverpool will do in the 30-day window before their away Premier League match against Chelsea.

Alexis MacAllister and Dominik Szoboszlai are the two midfielders that the Reds have already acquired for £95 million this summer. These are more offensive options, so if Fabinho leaves in the near future, it will be critical to move quickly to replace him with a defensively sound midfielder.

It will be interesting to see how Jurgen Klopp shifts priorities to anyone more ready-made ahead of a crucial season because the Reds have only been connected to young talents in that area thus far.

This transaction also takes place at a challenging time, as Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo, two of the best defensive midfielders in the English top division, have recently signed for Arsenal and Chelsea, respectively. The following five players are candidates to replace Fabinho in the Liverpool squad based on players who are currently available and data from Fbref . com:.

Romeo Lavia.

More defensive midfielders have been linked this summer than any other, but the 19-year-old has received the most attention. During Southampton’s chaotic 2022–23 Premier League season, he had a personal breakthrough and made 29 appearances, which was quite impressive.

The ECHO is aware that his age and experience won’t prevent him from joining Liverpool’s squad in the future.

Based on Lavia’s capacity to convert defense into attack, Klopp has a clear opportunity to replicate his Fabinho project with the Belgian.

Lavia completed 22 successive carries of the ball during the previous campaign, 21 of which went into the defensive third of the opposition. Fabinho only recorded 15, in contrast.

Lavia lags behind the Liverpool midfielder in terms of passing range, but not by much. This is debatable.

When making passes, Fabinho completed 88.3% of them while Lavia finished 86.2%. Interestingly, when it comes to long passes (30+ yards), the roles are reversed. Lavia achieved a success rate of 73.1 percent compared to Fabinho’s 69.5 percent.

Manu Kone.

Borussia Monchengladbach’s Kone, a target mentioned earlier in the summer, is among the continent’s most promising prospects in this position.

With 166 progressive passes in 2022–2023, the Frenchman offers a comparable allure in the area of advancing the game, outpacing Fabinho’s total by five. Kone made 74 versus 65 more tackles overall.

The 22-year-old’s injury, which he sustained prior to France’s elimination from the European Under-2 Championship last month, means that he would only be fully recovered by the beginning of August, which would be a major drawback to any move. With Stefan Bajcetic and Thiago also making progress toward recovery, Klopp simply has too many problems of this kind already.

Joe Palhinha.

The Fulham midfield general presents an intriguing option for Klopp to consider as we move into the ready-made category.

The Portugal international has excelled since relocating to London, helping his team defy the odds and maintain their Premier League status. This is the first factor making him an excellent candidate for Liverpool and explaining his significant role in it.

In his first season in England, Palhinha outperformed Fabinho, who only completed 29.7 of the 90-minute games on average, by finishing 34.5. If the club wants to once again compete at the highest level of English football, availability will be essential.

The Fulham midfielder nearly doubled Fabinho’s rate of tackles per 90 minutes, going from 4 to 2 per tackle.

William Ndidi.

While the Leicester City midfielder’s six seasons of Premier League experience make him an outside option, it’s impossible to ignore him. Additionally, he is still only 26 years old.

Ndidi was a key component of Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester squads that made it to Europe and won the FA Cup, and he was frequently compared to Fabinho during that time.

Last season, the pair nearly tied for first place in tackles and interceptions, with Fabinho’s total narrowly beating Ndidi’s 99. A total of 48 clearances were also made by the Nigerian.

His rate of errors resulting in opponent shots, which tops this list of contenders by a wide margin with three in 27 appearances, is the main aspect of his game that proves to be unappealing.

Aurelien Tchouameni.

The midfielder for Real Madrid has been placed last for a special reason. He isn’t specifically on the pre-made list; instead, he just seems invulnerable.

Tchouameni is the subject of reports that surfaced yesterday, according to which Real wants to keep the player. The fact that he would be the ideal choice to fill the void left by Fabinho’s departure, however, is still worth mentioning.

First off, with four assists, he had the most offensive returns of anyone on this list from an attacking perspective. This was achieved despite only making 24 starts, as opposed to players like Palhinha who made 35 and Fabinho who made 31.

With a pass completion rate of 92.8%, he excels at making passes, and his average of 2 point 67 in shot creation per 90 minutes makes him the shot creator with the highest rate.

Although having a player of this caliber at his disposal would be Klopp’s dream, it is ultimately the least likely scenario of the bunch.