Liverpool have already had busy summers but the new club shocker is in for a good test against Newcastle United
It was the change many fans were clamoring for after a tumultuous season that ended with Liverpool dropping out of the top four for the first time in seven years.
However, no one could have expected the Reds’ midfield to see a major change during the current transfer window.
And a first real test for Liverpool’s Champions League qualifying data is also about to see the debut of a midfield triumvirate that few, if any, could have imagined less than a week ago.
With Alexis Mac Allister receiving his controversial red card against Bournemouth on Saturday and subsequently retiring, Jurgen Klopp has the chance to field the World Cup winner in Argentina alongside Dominik Szoboszlai and latest signing Wataru Endo in that that will be a £100 central bank restructuring. that means 106.25 million. area of his team.
It’s a choice the Liverpool manager will almost certainly make, as Newcastle United, the team that ultimately ousted the Reds from Europe’s top flight, are next in a duel at St James’ Park on Sunday which will give a first impression.
if the two teams will likely return to compete for a place in the Champions League. Despite only signing on Friday – and starting around half an hour the following day – Endo is the only proven defensive midfielder in the Liverpool squad and can expect to make a full debut at Tyneside.
But he won’t be the only one still having to adjust to his new environment.
Szoboszlai’s stunning home game against Bournemouth was only his second game in English football, while Mac Allister’s sacking means that, despite being experienced in Premier League competition, he has made fewer than two league appearances for Liverpool , both reached the finish line. an unusual number – you are standing. role.
With just four full Reds appearances in the expected starting triumvirate, Liverpool rarely get into a game with such a fresh midfield.
While comparisons have been drawn with the summer of 2018 – when Liverpool identified the midfield as a key area for improvement by signing Fabinho when Naby Keita had already agreed to join last year – they don’t hold up particularly well under scrutiny. For starters, the pair found themselves in a Reds side that had just reached the Champions League final and boasted experienced engine room options that included Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Gini Wijnaldum and Adam Lallana.
And that meant the incoming couple wasn’t immediately thrown into the deep end. Fabinho only made his first Premier League start at the end of October and was still on the bench for the decisive visit to Manchester City in early January. Although he claimed a regular starting role at the time, he was not in the starting line-up for the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 tie against Bayern Munich, although Henderson’s early injury soon saw him return to action.
Keita, meanwhile, started the season in the XI, but had started just eight league games by mid-January and was injured during the latter part of the season as Liverpool eventually finished a point behind City to win the Champions League League. In Fenway Sports Group’s first summer transfer window in 2011,
there was a similar reshuffle in midfield when Henderson, Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing were all signed from a four-man engine room. With Steven Gerrard injured, all three started the season, but Adam did not start another Premier League game for the Reds after suffering a knee ligament injury the following March and Downing spent much of the next season at left-back before being sold.
With Stefan Bajcetic fit and available again, Thiago Alcantara set to return, Harvey Elliott pushing hard for a starting spot and hopefully Curtis Jones not staying out too long, there should soon be real competition for places in Liverpool’s midfield. And more than a week from the end of the transfer window, there is still room for additional reinforcements.
But now, Newcastle is the focus and a new trio will start. The shock of the new will then become apparent. And Klopp will no doubt hope that the surprise factor comes at the expense of Newcastle
