If any team in the Premier League has been involved in the title race alongside Manchester City in recent times, it’s Liverpool. And after taking it to the final day in 2021/22, everyone expected the Reds to be back challenging in 2022/23, but it proved to be somewhat of a disappointing campaign with Jurgen Klopp’s side having to settle for fifth place. However, the measure of Liverpool will be how they respond to events of last term and they’re potentially not too far away from where they need to be.
Work on the squad, especially the midfield department, had to happen immediately if Liverpool were to show signs of being the force of old. Premier League betting will always have the Reds in and around it where the odds of winning the title are concerned, but by addressing the obvious problems in central midfield, it’s naturally going to make those odds paying out more realistic. And Klopp has brought in three new midfielders at the time of writing, and they all have different qualities, which should serve Liverpool well this season and for at least a few more years to come.
We’ve seen the Reds take this approach before to great effect. There was a need for a world-class goalkeeper and elite centre-back; in came Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk, and look how their arrivals and the decision to address problem areas worked out. Liverpool went to the next level, climbed the next rung on the ladder, and went on to win their first-ever Premier League title. While Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Waturu Endo are unlikely to have the impact Alisson and Van Dijk did when they headed to Anfield, their arrivals are still a significant step in the right direction, moving the club closer to where it wants and needs to be.
Six players, who you could say were classed as central midfielders during their time at Liverpool, have recently walked through the exit door, and after three arrivals thus far, it’s likely that the Reds will add more new faces, more quality and more strength to the middle of the park before the window slam shuts late on September 1. By then, Liverpool could have taken a giant stride forward, and they will, at the very least, be in the mix for a top-four finish, which would secure Champions League football in 2024/25.
By sorting the midfield, Liverpool won’t be too far away from where they need to be if they’re to rival defending champions Manchester City once again. Klopp identifies an area of concern in his squad, and they remedy it, which is precisely how it should be. And it’s also likely the German will be pushing his employers to boost other areas of his team, with the defence, especially centrally, highlighted by former player Jamie Carragher. The former centre-back suggested Liverpool need to add another high-quality centre-half, and with Piero Hincapie linked, he could boost that area of the team and left-back, too, a position he knows well. It would represent even more progress.
