Last summer, Jürgen Klopp embarked on a full rejuvenation of his Liverpool midfield. It came a year later than it was probably needed, but the results have been excellent so far.
From week to week, the Reds got overrun in the middle of the park last season, with Klopp effectively punished for his loyalty to certain seasoned performers. He learned his lesson last term, and proceeded to allow as many as five of his midfielders to depart in the most recent window, including captain Jordan Henderson and vice-captain James Milner.
Fabinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keïta joined them in heading out of the door, with Liverpool having to source replacements ahead of the new campaign. Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endō and Ryan Gravenberch all proceeded to join, with three of those players under the age of 25.
The trio of youngsters are all comparable in many ways, as they are all number eights, even despite Mac Allister’s usage in a deeper role in the main. The three players are well-rounded and relatively complete on the field, painting themselves as multifunctional talents with attacking skill sets.
Alongside Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott, Liverpool is well stacked for creative and expressive number eights, which explains why recent links with Jamal Musiala are curious. The Bayern Munich wonderkid was said to be of interest to the Reds in October last year with the German international not currently having conversations about a new contract in Bavaria.
Now, the Daily Star has reported that Liverpool and Manchester City are on ‘red alert’ because Musiala has rejected a new deal in Germany. The former Chelsea academy talent could make the move back to England.
Musiala is undeniably special. He’s still just 21 years old, yet he’s already a fairly regular starter for one of the biggest clubs on the planet, having established himself as a supreme technician who is very effective in the tightest of spaces. In fact, Gravenberch has tipped him for greatness since arriving on Merseyside.
Replying to supporters on the Reds’ subreddit last year, Gravenberch was asked to name the most talented youngster that he’s played alongside. “I’d go for Jamal Musiala,” he said. “Jamal does crazy things in training and also in the game. He’s very good for his age.”
Musiala is good enough to be deserving of a starting spot at Anfield, but it seems highly unlikely that any move is going to transpire any time soon. Upon inspection of the system that Klopp and his assistant, Pep Lijnders, have been installing since April, Liverpool can only field two number eights.
Jones and Szoboszlai have dominated the roles so far, with Gravenberch also making an impression. Elliott is another who has been awarded a fair amount of minutes, and then there is Mac Allister too.
Musiala is a versatile and flexible attacker but based on Liverpool’s current system, it is reasonable to suggest that he’d be best deployed as a number eight, with those players expected to play like advanced midfielders whenever the Reds have possession under control.
