Assessing our new look midfield

Evening troops, apologies for the lack of articles recently, it’s been a combination of work being nuts and the fact hardly any of our games have been televised so instead of attempting a post match article based on short highlights, I thought I’d give my assessment on how the summer signings have settled into our new look midfield.

Mac Allister – We moved quickly once the window opened to secure the signing of the Argentinian and with his cut price release clause, it’s easy to see why. He’s had a mixed start to life at Anfield however and has come in for some criticism from sections of the fanbase, although I do believe a little harshly at times. To me, it seems obvious his struggles are stemming from being asked to play an unfamiliar position in a new team. Alexis is not a DM, he’s a playmaker. Much more a Thiago type of deep lying midfielder than a Fabinho and his lack of natural defensive instinct, coupled with not being the most mobile of players has just highlighted his weaknesses, while simultaneously diluting his strengths in my opinion. I believe he could play as part of s double pivot at the base of midfield but he needs a proper DM beside him to allow him to link play and show off his impressive passing range. I’m still a fan of his and believe he’ll prove an excellent signing in the fullness of time, although it may be next season before we see the best of him.

Szoboszlai – Such has been his impact, I’m ashamed to say I’d never heard of Dominik until we were linked to him but he looks the complete package, everything you want in a midfielder. He’s big, strong, quick, technically excellent, scores and assists and his work rate is second to none. I see very few weaknesses to his game, if any at all and at 22 it’s scary to think how good he could be. Nothing but positives to say about him and looks like another excellent addition and great value for money.

Gravenberch – Speaking of value for money… I was a bit wary when we were linked to Ryan, I felt he’d been doing a lot of public moaning about his lack of game time at Bayern, considering his age and the quality of player ahead of him in the pecking order. I feared he may have an attitude problem but he’s certainly shown no evidence of that in his time with us and so I’m prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt just now and given the way he’s hit the ground running straight away with some excellent performances, you do have to wonder that Tuchel didn’t see a way to use him more and was happy to sell him for a relative pittance in terms of modern transfer fees.
Much like Szoboszlai, he has everything you want in a midfielder – pace, power, technique, goals and assists. In full flow he’s pretty unstoppable but also technically excellent. Another with a scarily high ceiling when you consider his age and I’m really excited to see more of him as he develops over the next couple of years.

Endo – This was always a bit of a left field signing, made in somewhat desperation after the Lavia/Caicedo debacles and it was always going to be a big ask for a 30 year old to make a giant step up in class and immediately hit the ground running. Unfortunately for Endo, we haven’t been able to afford him the bedding in period that the likes of Robbo and Fabinho got when they first arrived at the club. If nothing else however, he provides us with a rotation option for the cups and lesser opposition and even if he’s just a one season stopgap signing, I’ve no problem with that. I’ve been calling for stopgap signings for 3 years, have written 2 out the last 3 off due to injury crises that were very foreseeable in my opinion, given the fact we knowingly went into those seasons short in key areas and relying on injury prone players to stay fit, despite history telling us that was very unlikely. There’s no reason a club of our stature can’t make cheap, stopgap signings like this to get us through a season and I hope the club have learned that lesson. At 30 he was never going to be the answer long term and while at the moment he looks to be struggling to get to grips with the pace of the English game, I’m prepared to be give him a bit more time. If he develops into a steady Eddie squad player for a season or two, I’ll be happy enough with that. The jury is definitely out at the minute however.

All in all then, I think we can be happy with our new signings and sitting second in the table, the difference they’ve made in comparison to last season is there for all to see. Still some inconsistencies and a couple of disappointing results recently but that’s to be expected from what is almost a completely new midfield unit. At the very least, 3/4 of them give reason for us to be optimistic and the signing of a proper, recognised DM is the last piece of of the puzzle to complete our midfield rebuild. Get the right player in that position and we have a fearsome midfield that looks capable of competing with anyone and is only going to get better over the next couple of years.

After last seasons dismal campaign, it’s nice to feel optimism again. A return to the top four would represent a successful season in my opinion, with any more than that being a bonus. Next season, we should be ready to kick on as proper contenders for the major trophies once more. Walk on!!