Liverpool looked at a long-term, direct replacement after fabinho left saudi pro league club al-ittihad during the summer transfer window. Brighton midfielder moisés caicedo was on a now-infamous premier league record, but he decided to join chelsea instead, and plan b target roméo lavia followed him to stamford bridge. As all of this unfolded, there were still a few weeks until the reds decided to sign wataru end, a 30-year-old stuttgart midfielder, in a relatively smooth deal, ensuring that jürgen klopp had at least a fit and available specialist at his disposal. Klopp had favored a dominant number eight in alexis mac allister as his replacement in that situation up until december, but the argentine’s injury to sheffield united ended up being end’s first sustained run in the team. Despite the fact that the reds are now three points ahead of the premier league, it seems that a long-term solution is being sought.
Liverpool is monitoring morten frendrup, a 22-year-old genoa midfielder, according to paul gorst of echo, and although a move to genoa in january is unlikely, scouts are continuing to’assess his development.’ The club may eventually shift to a player who can help support their homegrown roster, but the appeal is instructive because frendrup has such a distinctive profile. The dane leads the way in serie a for tackles attempted (72), tackles won (37) and dribblers tackled (31), while ranking in the division’s top three and first for midfielders, with total ground duels won (101). Jacek kulig, a talent scout, has dubbed him a “one-man army,” and that’s just how fabinho was called upon during his time at anfield, when he single-handedly defused opposition counterattacks. We wondered if liverpool would seek a replica or take the opportunity to experiment with a different group of six when the brazilian left. Klopp’s use of mac allister demonstrated a willingness to shift toward a new approach that places more emphasis on collective defense in the middle of the park rather than on an individual firefighter.
The manager has admitted that the $44 million (£35 million/€41 million) signing is not a “natural-born six” (via this is anfield), but he hopes that by developing a more comprehensive on-ball skillset, he can compensate for those inherent shortcomings. Despite liverpool’s improved defensive defense and continued attacking success (it set a new record for expected goals in a premier league match against newcastle) during end’s recent run of games suggests klopp could still be better served by a defensive specialist. Given the nature of the japan international, there is no imminent rush, but he will turn 31 next month. And given the interest in frendrup, the club is hoping to bring this player in long-term after end’s absence. We’ve just received a big hint about klopp’s long-term vision for ‘liverpool 2.0,’ even if he isn’t the one who joins in the end.
