For a squad whose need for a specialist defensive midfielder was apparent back in the summer, Jurgen Klopp’s use of the No.6 role at Liverpool has been intriguing so far this term.
The early June capture of Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton was a key part of an overhaul designed to offset the departures of James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain while providing some high-calibre competition to the likes of then captain Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and the rest of the midfielders at Anfield at the time.
Despite his experience as an occasional deep-lying playmaker, few saw Mac Allister becoming the Reds’ first-choice holding midfielder when he signed on a five-year deal for £35m at the time.
But even for a club with the best-laid of plans, sometimes they are forced to change and pivot and the arrival of the Saudi Pro League into football’s collective consciousness altered the plans considerably.
With Dominik Szoboszlai already through the door, Liverpool suddenly needed further engine-room reinforcements and after being frustrated in their pursuit of Romeo Lavia, then of Southampton, a shock switch ensued as they suddenly trained their focus on Moises Caicedo back in August.
For a club who were willing to bid what would have been a British-record sum of £111m to complete a deal for Caicedo in the summer, it’s curious that the developments since have seen them sign a 30-year-old Wataru Endo for a shade over 10% of that figure to act, primarily, as backup to Mac Allister.
If the right player is not available, Klopp has a proven track record of waiting. It’s been a game of patience that has allowed Liverpool to sign the likes of Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk and the decision from Caicedo to join Chelsea has since seen the manager hold his nerve once more on a big-money alternative at No.6.
But the fact Liverpool were willing to shatter their transfer record in a season without Champions League football by as much as £36m for Caicedo before signing £16m Endo just days later from Stuttgart before limiting him to just two Premier League starts – one when Mac Allister was suspended – is a clear indication that Klopp is aware of the imperfect situation he has in the defensive midfield area presently.
For now, it is a squad that remains incomplete and even if their encouraging early-season form is making light of that issue, it is one that will need tackling in one of the upcoming transfer windows. As the failed Caicedo pursuit at least confirms, the money is evidently there.
Mac Allister, a World Cup winner with Argentina last year, is a fine technician and his interpretation of the position is all about touch and technique, vision and surety of foot. It is a world away from thundering challenges of the league’s more muscular midfielders. Brains over brawn, he might argue.
The 24-year-old has looked a class act at times with his expansive passing range, pulling strings from deep and helping the supply line further forward. His clipped assist for Darwin Nunez’s goal against West Ham United, for example, was a perfect illustration of what he can offer in that position. Ditto for his measured yet underrated pass to release the same player to set up Mohamed Salah in the closing stages of the Merseyside derby with Everton last month.
At other junctures, however, Mac Allister has found himself overran as the sole holding midfielder. The recent 1-1 draw with Luton Town was a textbook example and the fact he has already been suspended for five bookings is more indicative of a player being forced to take a necessary caution rather than evidence of one of the game’s true destroyers.
It’s a difficult balancing act that is taking some adjustment and while his fellow summer arrival Szoboszlai might be earning more of the acclaim with his own adaptation so far, Mac Allister can be more than pleased with his report card to date, even if it has not always been a seamless transition.
Despite some teething problems, only three players have had more minutes than Mac Allister this term for Klopp with his 880 only bettered by Szoboszlai and Salah as outfield players. That tally should have ticked beyond the 1000-mark too had he not been sent off against Bournemouth on his home debut for a red card that was later rescinded.
Clearly, then, Mac Allister has earned the trust of Klopp in that position, despite it perhaps not being his most effective or natural. But with Manchester City to come at the Etihad at the weekend, the manager has a key decision to make over his defensive midfielder.
The international break of September saw Mac Allister huffing on oxygen tanks in the “mountains of Bolivia” – to quote Klopp – while on duty for Argentina and the decision to start him immediately after the restart, in the 12.30pm slot at Wolves on September 16, was one that didn’t work.
Hauled off at half-time after struggling, Klopp took responsibility for the selection of a player who had been trying to combat the effects of the La Paz altitude before his 6,000-mile journey back to Merseyside, which saw him land at around 4am on the Thursday morning before the game.
“It’s just one of those situations,” said Harvey Elliott at the time. “[Off-days] happen to everyone and we’re a team at the end of the day. It’s happened to me as well, you just have to take it on the chin, support the team and everyone needs to play their part and it’s just one of things, you have to move on.”
The most recent 12.30pm kick-off after an international break was more fruitful for Mac Allister at Anfield as Everton were beaten 2-0 in the derby. Liverpool made sure they were organised better around the logistics of their South American quartet to make sure they all returned to Merseyside a day earlier than the previous month and it was a tactic that paid off with Luis Diaz winning a penalty in the second half and Mac Allister and Nunez combining for Salah’s second late on.
Liverpool will once more charter the private jet to get Mac Allister, Nunez, Diaz and Alisson sooner than later but it makes Saturday’s selection at the base of the midfield only marginally less difficult for a manager who might feel the more natural instincts of Endo will be better suited to stemming the City tide.
Japan captain Endo will be likely involved in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday afternoon when they play Syria at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium and while that is far from an ideal scenario for Klopp, it is still 10 hours before Brazil host Argentina in the Maracana and some 1200 miles closer to the North West of England.
These are just some of the factors a manager has to consider during an international break and with what is questionably the most difficult away day of the campaign to come next, Klopp has much thinking to do.
