Liverpool have enjoyed their fair share of top-class players over the years, and it looks like FSG are going to need to find their next batch of talents this summer, with Arne Slot’s side in need of major surgery.
That, in fairness, makes it sound more dramatic than it is. Liverpool are going to win the Premier League this season, 11 points clear even after falling to defeat against Fulham at the weekend.
But there’s little question that Liverpool have struggled to maintain their giddy levels throughout the span of the campaign, the drop-off leading to online revisionism that must be taken with the smallest pinch of salt.
Truly, this is a sensational Liverpool team achieving things no one envisaged before the 2024/25 season kicked off.
Of course, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah and Alisson Becker have been the linchpins, but we must tip our hats to those in the middle of the park, charging the efforts.
Liverpool have always had a good relationship with high-profile, elite-level midfielders. Let’s take a look at a few of the finest over the years.
Liverpool's finest midfielders
We would be remiss not to first pay homage to Steven Gerrard, who painfully missed out on Jurgen Klopp’s dynasty but has regardless cemented himself as one of Liverpool’s greatest players in history, crucial in winning the Champions League and FA Cup, the city’s beating heart for so many years.
However, he’s not the only midfielder to achieve greatness. Liverpool have indeed enjoyed a number of more structured deep-lying stars than Gerrard, who more often than not played between the numbers to place as a sort of eight-ten.
Jordan Henderson stepped up as Gerrard’s successor and went one better than his idol in the Premier League. He wasn’t the same player, but as a captain, the Mackem was near the Scouse hero’s level.
Fabinho played the anchoring role to aplomb over so many years for Klopp’s side, with Sky Sports’ Gary Neville even declaring him as “the best in the world” in 2019, before Manchester City’s Rodri reached the top of his game.
Further back, though, we have the likes of Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso, two players who served alongside Gerrard in the days preceding the pre-Klopp darkness.
Alonso won the Champions League alongside Stevie, while Mascherano was beloved for his tenacious attitude as the tough-tackling central piece. The Argentine went on to plunder riches at Barcelona, but he’s always maintained that the best football of his career was played on Merseyside.
Alonso, the silky maestro; Mascherano, the no-nonsense general. Now, Liverpool have a player who’s shaping into a hybrid of the two, and he’s a product of Slot’s genius.
Liverpool's new midfield "machine"
Liverpool’s midfield might appear to be flagging at the moment, but this is kind of understandable given that Slot has been so unwilling to change things up.
This makes a comment on his views toward his marginal first-teamers, but equally highlights the trust placed in the likes of Ryan Gravenberch, who has been absolutely superb this season as Liverpool’s unexpected deep-lying midfielder.
Aged 22, Gravenberch has made remarkable headway since ebbing and flowing across the 2023/24 season, having signed from Bayern Munich for a £34m fee in August 2023.
Klopp saw something in this dynamic midfielder, whose qualities stretched wide. Signs of the fiery Mascherano were there, while a technical level reminiscent of Alonso in his playing pomp also sat within. However, Slot has fashioned Gravenberch into something more rounded, encapsulating different facets to supercharge Liverpool to, probably, the title.
CIES Football Observatory also record that Gravenberch is Liverpool’s most valuable player at £89m, which bears testament both to Slot’s tactical expertise and the Netherlands ace’s swift assimilation of his new role.
While detractors would try to say that Gravenberch has been out of sorts over the past several weeks, it’s important to remember that he’s played far more football for Liverpool this season than last: indeed, the Dutchman completed just 1,848 minutes, whereas this term he’s featured across 3,696 minutes.
And anyway, his redefinition as a press-resistant, multi-functioning six has borne great dividends for Liverpool, who needed a left-field solution after Martin Zubimendi opted against a move to Anfield last summer, stayed with Real Sociedad instead.
Matches (starts)
26 (12)
31 (31)
Goals
1
0
Assists
0
3
Touches*
28.8
67.6
Pass completion
83%
89%
Key passes*
0.6
0.8
Dribbles*
0.9
1.0
Ball recoveries*
2.8
5.4
Tackles + interceptions*
1.5
3.5
Total duels (won)*
2.8 (47%)
4.9 (58%)
As you can see, Gravenberch has come on leaps and bounds since sitting on the margins for much of his maiden year at Liverpool, in Klopp’s team. No longer shuttling around without a defined role, he’s a force in the middle of the field, fusing with Alexis Mac Allister and upholding strong ball-playing and combative virtues.
That’s not to say that he’s lost his ability to drive forward with the ball at his feet. Podcast host Ilyas Noreaga has noted that Gravenberch is something of a “gliding machine,” with his terrific range of qualities indeed making him a multi-layered player blessed with similarities to both Alonso and Mascherano.
Liverpool are reaping rich rewards under Slot’s wing, set to win the elusive Premier League title in the first post-Klopp year. It’s quite the thing.
It’s easy to pick out Salah and Van Dijk and the like as the irreplaceable cogs to make the machine purr, but Gravenberch may well have been Anfield’s most important player this term, a wonderful amalgamation of varying midfield styles.
He’s still so young, sure to have many Alonso-like passing performances and defensive shutouts in the vein of Mascherano. He’s the complete package.
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