Liverpool take two steps to fix midfield 'problem' - and a third could soon emerge

Liverpool's midfield under Jürgen Klopp is such a big deal. Many would make you believe it.

For years those who play in the central sector of the German sidehave been questioned as to what they cannot do, rather than being praised for their performances.have often been criticized for their performance.

And it can be quite a lot, at least if the team is doing well.

All of the Reds' success in recent years has been based on the ability of his midfield units to move faithfully and foster creativity and offensive power forward and around.

Since the departure of Philippe Coutinho in January 2018, the Reds have had an attacking threat from the flanks, with the full-back often providing unstoppable creativity and wide his Forwards are often unstoppable. Roberto Firmino was the most creative force in the centre, often occupying the usual No. 8 or No. 10 position despite wearing the No. 9 jersey.

So there is often some suspicion about the playeroccupying thecentral area. Players are often not very highly regarded, at least externally. is considered. Many would simply dismiss them as Klopp's side footsoldiers.

There is certainly some truth to that.

In his seven years in Klopp at Merseyside, Liverpool all-action, match-winning, eye-catching performances from the type of central midfielder his generation of fans grew up watching. It's hard to come up with too many. Almost weekly from Steven Gerrard.

The Dutchman spent the first half of the match sitting on the bench, but Gini Wijnaldum's 2019 win was the heart of the comeback victory over Barcelona. There are braces.

After that, there were moments sprinkled with great goals from the likes of Emre Can, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but the latter played a much bigger role. Win the Premier League title more than many people remember.

Klopp's midfielder tends to make a difference in more subtle ways. Recent progress and successes include Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Wijnaldum himself and, before that, Adam Lallana.

The graft and lust they infuse into the game has often set the stage for Liverpool, even if the midfielder himself isn't the one to shine on it.

82} But if signing Thiago Alcantara in the summer of 2020 was the first sign of a shift from that, sometimes in favor of style over steel, Klopp is building for the future. Things like to see it evolve again.

At Anfield this week, Harvey Elliott, a young talent many would already be excited were it not for last season's unfortunate injury, and newcomer Stephen Bithetic. has been given a new covenant.

17-year-old Baicetic still has plenty of time. , although he will certainly only get a small amount of first-team time this season, his role for this Liverpool side can already be seen as one of Klopp's facilitators, albeit in a slightly different form. . The combination of Fabinho and Thiago would make a pretty good target for the young Spaniard to aim for if it weren't too big a target.

But with his new contract Valjetic's Elliott, who is two years older, really went into "make an impact now" mode. This is what we showed at Fulham last weekend. As much as the arrival of Darwin Nunez.

Coming from the right side of midfield 3, Elliott has already developed a great understanding with Trent his Alexander his Arnold and Mohammed his Salah and is still not at Henderson's level. , after which it has not reached anyone's level.

Conversely, it was Thiago's injury that kept Elliott on the pitch last weekend, but he was the Spaniard's. has affected his short term. Outlook from now on.

With Thiago out, Klopp is likely to have Fabinho and Henderson on his side, and his captaincy has a much better role on the right side of midfield than on the left.

But that left choice becomes even more interesting as Kropp is able to ponder different options.

Milner deserves the shirt if he's on track. By reputation, it should probably belong to Keita. Oxlade-Chamberlain and Curtis Jones would also like to join the conversation, but their injuries prevent them from doing so. About Fabio Carvalho. Youngsters can play there and are better suited coming from the left when attacking so it might be worth a try.

Whatever Klopp decides, something interesting. But after a week that included two nods to future midfield contenders, an exciting third could help ease early-season worries.

This is an evolving Liverpool team, and the manager's midfield is about to prove it soon.

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