Liverpool FC remains in the market for midfielders as the rebuild of this area of the team continues.
There is also the distinct possibility that more players could leave by the end of the 2023 summer transfer window, meaning there is plenty of scope for the club to really get to work on upgrading its midfield.
A complete overhaul of one area of a team can sometimes be seen as a risk. There can be uncertainty around how quickly new players will settle into their new environment and new team.
Locker room camaraderie can take time to form, and combinations on the field often have to be worked on throughout the season.
In many ways, though, Liverpool has nothing to lose, and the real risk was not beginning to address this issue last summer. It was a risk that didn’t pay off as the club missed out on Champions League football for the first time in seven seasons.
By not even beginning the process of refreshing its midfield or evolving it into a more futureproof state, Liverpool missed out on the most lucrative club competition in world football.
They will pay some price for that this season, but apparently not when it comes to attracting players.
It could be said Liverpool missed out on Jude Bellingham, but given the fee of well over $100 million that would have been needed to challenge Real Madrid for his signature, it could be argued, quite convincingly, that Liverpool needed to spread transfer funds around the squad and not spend it all on one player
That’s two quality players, who are immediately at first team and first XI level, acquired for less than the price Real paid for Bellingham
Since this early flurry, there has been as much talk of players leaving as there has been talk of new arrivals.
Jordan Henderson and Fabinho have been the subject of bids from Saudi Arabian clubs, and there have been faint rumours that midfield maestro Thiago Alcantara is also attracting interest from elsewhere.
Henderson is the club captain at Liverpool but has had his head turned by the riches on offer in Saudi Arabia, as well as the possibility of working under Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq.
This has led to suggestions there could be a leadership void if Henderson leaves, with vice-captain James Milner also having left at the end of last season.
But if there was a certain brand of leadership in Liverpool’s midfield last year, it was obviously one of many things that were ineffective given the team’s struggles.
Henderson has been a great captain for Liverpool, arguably the best the club has had in terms of his professionalism and the way he deals with off-field issues, although his recent flirtation with Saudi Arabia threatens that status.
But on the field, the team has lacked leadership, as well as quality and a midfield engine.
Henderson has been inconsistent for some time, the departing Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were too often injured, and James Milner who also left the club this summer and was arguably the best of this bunch last season, had just turned 37.
When it comes to leadership groups and captains, a lack of quality can only be compensated for by off-field leadership and professionalism for so long.
It has reached a point for Liverpool where there is no risk in rebuilding the midfield completely because it couldn’t really get any worse in that area.
Simply adding quality should be an overall positive even if some players take time to fit in and gel, though the signings made so far should have no problem slotting into Liverpool’s system.
All eyes will now be on the additional player or players Liverpool surely needs to complete this rebuild.
The club’s new sporting director Jörg Schmadtke will be busy for the rest of the window, or at least he should be, as the midfield overhaul at Liverpool needs to continue undaunted by any idea it might be too much in one go.
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