Liverpool’s transfer objectives will drastically alter the midfield dynamic

Liverpool have already signed Brighton’s Alexis MacAllister and are set to acquire two more midfielders, all of whom appear to bring a new dimension to the squad.

Last week, the club agreed to a £35 million deal worth up to £55 million for Mac Allister. The 24-year-old was a significant first signing since it demonstrates the club’s desire to secure their aims early in the transfer window.

According to Football Insider’s David Lynch, the groundwork is being built to recruit both Manu Kone of Borussia Monchengladbach and Kephren Thuram of Nice this summer, in addition to the Mac Allister deal. With the departures of James Milner, Naby Keita, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, there is room for new blood in Jurgen Klopp‘s team. And those two might provide the Reds with a new driving force in midfield, which they lacked last season.

To demonstrate this argument further, we’ve chosen to use Opta data, which shows that the three targets (Mac Allister, Kone, and Thuram) all rank substantially higher than the present midfield set-up in terms of chance creating carries (of five metres or more) last season: Thuram (30), Alexis MacAllister (22), Manu Kone (19), and Harvey Elliott (14), who is Liverpool’s top midfielder for this season.

All three players bring energy, work-rate, and a propensity to go forward with the ball, which is a different threat than both Jordan Henderson and Thiago in their current states – additionally Thuram and Kone are more physically intimidating than Elliot and Jones. With all three midfielders possessing strong progressive carries, Klopp has clearly emphasized the necessity for energy in his midfield, which he hopes will propel them back into title contention.

Rather than aiming to mimic Manchester City‘s possession-based system, Klopp understands the need of steadiness in the middle of the pitch to allow the front line and full-backs to have more influence. These possible signings will help with that, but they will also provide more consistency and a stronger presence, making the club stronger overall.