Since last we spoke, Liverpool have acquired one point in the table, and one Japanese defensive midfielder. For me, both bring big sighs of relief. Not much joy, a bit of disappointment, and a lot of hope and expectation of more to come. But most of all, relief.
Liverpool looked quite good for the first 25 minutes last weekend at Stamford Bridge. After that, Chelsea dominated possession and threatened to score on the break on several occasions. The Reds’ defense held up pretty well against Chelsea’s build-up play, which easily bypassed the Liverpool press from about the 25-minute mark forward. But we still gave up several big chances on the break, and it would have been relatively easy for Chelsea to have taken all three points.
Some Thoughts on Wataru Endo
Meanwhile, recent acquisition Wataru Endo is a far cry from Moisés Caicedo. But by all accounts Endo’s a solid, defensively-minded player who is also good in possession. He’s captain of the Japanese national team, and he was also captain at Stuttgart. Not only does he bring leadership skills, he is also fulfilling a dream by playing with a big club in the Premier League.
I expect Endo will do quite well for us. Because he’s so delighted to be in a big English club, I expect him to fight for Liverpool with everything he’s got. He probably does not have the same level of skills that Fabinho has. And, he’s even a year older than Fabinho, so his legs may not have that much more in them than Fabinho’s did. However, last season Fabinho appeared to give up on the club, and I expect Endo to bring the opposite attitude.
Over the last several seasons, Endo has missed very few games due to injury. His defensive statistics show that he has been among the best midfielders in the Bundesliga at sweeping up in front of the defense. Surprisingly, he also has some very good offensive statistics. Only four players in the German top flight created more chances than Endo last season. Notably, one of them was Dominik Szoboszlai. Endo also scored six goals and had five assists in the league last season. One of those goals was a 92nd-minute winning header on the last day, which prevented Stuttgart from being relegated.
Stuttgart fans universally appear devastated that Endo is leaving their club.
Again, I think Endo will do quite well for Liverpool, and this appears to be a savvy signing for about £16 million (19 million Euros).
What Additional Transfers Should We Expect?
With Endo now in place, there are still big questions about what other transfers we should expect in this summer window.
Will Endo Be a Squad Player, or the First-Choice DM?
Many Liverpool faithful seem convinced that Endo has been brought in for a limited squad role, rather than as a first-choice replacement for Fabinho’s spot.
Certainly, given the club’s ambitious effort to acquire Caicedo, Endo as first choice seems like a huge letdown by comparison. To add fuel to this fire, just yesterday (the same day the Endo deal was announced), credible journalists reported that Liverpool are exploring a possible deal for Crystal Palace’s defensive midfielder Cheick Doucouré. Such a deal for Doucouré would likely cost LFC between £60 and £80 million, and Doucouré would certainly be the first-choice starter ahead of Endo.
On the other hand, given the availability of both Thiago and Stefan Bajčetić to play alongside Trent in a midfield double-pivot on at least some occasions, Klopp may believe that Endo fulfills the club’s immediate defensive midfield needs. Endo and Bajčetić are currently the only two “destroyer” types at the club. Bajčetić is still recovering from surgery, and it now appears he is unlikely to play until after the first international break in September.
Personally, I think Klopp would like to use Thiago and Trent together in midfield more than many might anticipate. Especially at home against bottom-half teams, it may not be necessary for Liverpool to have a “destroyer” in midfield.
LFC Are Really Thin In the Center Back Department
My best guess is that Liverpool will NOT go get another defensive mid in this transfer window, but will instead use the available funds to secure a defender who can play both left-sided center back and left back. At the moment, Liverpool are very thin in the center back position, especially given the checkered injury histories of Matip, Gomez, and Konaté. Although van Dijk has had fewer injury concerns across his career than the other three, he also lost a full season to an ACL tear (courtesy of Jordan fucking Pickford). In addition to the injury concerns for the CBs, there are also serious concerns as to whether both Matip and Gomez are still good enough to start for Liverpool at CB. Both had poor seasons last year (along with a lot of others, to be fair). Gomez has never gotten back to the levels at which he performed before his last major knee injury, which occurred in November 2020 while he was on international duty with England.
Meanwhile, Matip is now 32 years old, and his performances last year raise reasonable concerns that he’s no longer good enough for Liverpool.
In addition to these concerns about Matip and Gomez, the new 3-2-2-3 formation raises concerns that Andy Robertson is currently playing out of position in a spot better suited for a natural left-sided center back. Robertson is an attacking left back, and his natural tendencies often lead him to push farther up the pitch when Liverpool have the ball than a left-sided center back should typically be going.
Now 29, Robertson is also showing signs of slowing down. He’s got a lot of footballing miles on his legs over the last six seasons. He’s not only been a mainstay for Liverpool, but he’s also Scotland’s captain. All told, since joining Liverpool in 2017, Robertson has racked up more than 28,000 minutes of playing time for club and country. That’s (probably) too much. It’s time to get him more rest, especially since he’s now arguably playing out of position in Liverpool’s new setup.
It’s unclear who Liverpool are targeting for the left-sided defender spot. The club apparently loved Levi Colwill, who spent last season at Brighton on loan from Chelsea. However, it now strongly appears that Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino likes Colwill just as much as Klopp, and plans to use him in the Chelsea first-choice 11.
Liverpool also allegedly considered purchasing Micky Van de Ven, who Tottenham recently purchased from Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. Another possible target, Castello Lukeba, just went from Lyon to RB Leipzig.
Other young, left-footed CBs that might fit LFC’s desired profile include Arthur Theate (Rennes) and Gonçalo Inacio (Benfica), although Inacio just signed a renewed contract with Benfica, suggesting he’s not going anywhere soon.
Who knows – maybe there’s another surprise transfer coming up in the next few weeks.
LFC May Also Be Looking for Thiago’s Replacement
This is Thiago’s final contract season, and credible rumors link Liverpool with several players who look like they might be earmarked to take over Thiago when he leaves next summer. For example, Liverpool have been heavily linked with Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch for more than two years now. Because Gravenberch has yet to find a regular place in Bayern’s lineup, that transfer might be doable for a reasonable fee. Likewise, in this transfer window LFC have apparently made serious inquiries about André Trindade, a young controlling midfielder who plays for Fluminense in Brazil. Many observers believe that Liverpool may sign André this January.
Enough About Transfers – What Should We Expect Tomorrow?
Although all did not go swimmingly against Chelsea, I expect to see a very similar lineup tomorrow against Bournemouth.
The biggest question marks remain who will start in the “Fabinho role” next to Trent, and which of the “other four” forwards will start, besides Mo Salah.
I seriously doubt that Endo will start, both because his registration with the Premier League may not occur soon enough, and because he will have had only one training session with the team. Curtis Jones is doubtful with a minor ankle injury. Both Thiago and Stefan Bajčetić are doubts until after the first international break in September.
Knowing all of that, my guess is that Alexis Mac Allister will again start in this deeper “defensive” midfield role, with Cody Gakpo playing as an attacking midfielder in front of him.
I doubt that anything changes in defense. As for the forward line, the main question in my mind is whether Jota or Núñez starts as the central striker. On the one hand, against a team like Bournemouth, which is likely to park the bus at Anfield, it would make some sense to play Jota, because he will drop deeper, get more involved in the buildup, and help pass the ball through the packed defense.
On the other hand, Jota played fairly poorly against Chelsea. Perhaps Darwin deserves a shot. Both Jota and Núñez will see plenty of playing time throughout the season, and both of them will get some minutes tomorrow. I’ll guess that Núñez gets the start, but it will be far from surprising if Klopp starts Jota again.
Thus, I’m guessing this lineup:
Bournemouth have a new manager and some promising new young talent. But, it will be very disappointing to me and several hundred thousand other LFC fans if Liverpool fail to emerge from Anfield with three points tomorrow.
LFC 3 – Bournemouth 1
C’mon you Redmen! Let’s get this season REALLY started!
