Liverpool will be happy they missed out on Caicedo as prove after victory over Everton
Liverpool clearly wanted sixth place in the summer transfer window. It seems likely that the position did not feature in some of the original plans as the club were surprised by Fabinho’s departure, but once the sale was sanctioned a concerted effort was made to land someone in the role.
This intention was dramatically announced when Liverpool signed Moisés Caicedo. It went as far as Jurgen Klopp confirming the bid had been accepted before Chelsea upped their offer and sealed the deal.
The confusion of this saga has long since disappeared and Liverpool have managed to avoid all opposition in the Premier League table. Chelsea are already eight points adrift, dropping as many points as Klopp’s side during the 2019/20 Championship campaign.
However, there is a lingering feeling that Liverpool will return to a defensive midfield position. After missing Caicedo, Klopp immediately signed Wataru Endō, but it had all the earmarks of a relatively short-term deal from the start.
A four-year contract belies that, but the way Endō has been used in the opening weeks seems to be further evidence that he is not an option for Caicedo. Klopp approached the Japanese captain modestly, preferring to deploy Alexis MacAllister at the base of midfield. The prevailing view seems to be that Caicedo’s former Brighton counterpart will fill the role until a true specialist can be brought in, in which case Mac Allister will “relieve” at a higher level. But the reality is that the World Cup winner can stay where he is.
Part of that is because of his performances. Although he has come under scrutiny, especially since his return to Brighton, Mac Allister has for the most part taken the job well. He is one of Liverpool’s leaders in saves and success rate – although Klopp would prefer those figures to be higher overall – and most importantly, he offers more than Fabinho ever had. Klopp’s much-vaunted “Liverpool 2.0” appears to be moving towards a truly possession-oriented game. The coach wants each of his midfielders to feel comfortable on the ball and be able to provide sharp moments of progress.
Equally important, however, is that Mac Allister can be stuck with the performances of his colleagues. With Curtis Jones serving a suspension against Everton, Ryan Gravenberch made his first Premier League start – and the Dutchman put on a show.
Gravenberch’s brilliant performance came alongside the equally impressive Dominik Szoboszlai. In the meantime, Harvey Elliott was called up from the bench and made a real difference. Throw Jones back into the mix and it seems highly unlikely that Klopp would want to move Mac Allister to such a well-maintained area.
Had Liverpool signed Caicedo for a record fee, Klopp would undoubtedly have played him where Mac Allister is now. Presumably in this alternate reality FSG would not have Gravenberch in charge – but even without him the competition for the number eight role would have been tight, with two Argentines missing every week, Szoboszlai, Jones and Elliott.
The depth isn’t bad, but it would have felt wasted. Yet look at Gravenberch now – he looks like a man who was unleashed at Liverpool but wasted a season watching from the bench at Bayern Munich.
The longer Mac Allister stays in the No. 6 role, the better he defends. At the same time, he offers Klopp a completely new interpretation of the position, making Liverpool better on the ball. With each game, he looks like a real Caicedo option: don’t expect him to move anywhere anytime soon.
