Liverpool has a midfield problem to solve amid a lack of control in the early stages of the Andoni Iraola era, but the answer is not as simple as changing personnel
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola has made an indifferent start to his tenure
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola has made an indifferent start to his tenure(Image: Shaun Brooks - CameraSport via Getty Images)
"I like to play with Ryan (Gravenberch), I like to play with Flo (Wirtz), with Wata (Endo) and with Trey (Nyoni)," Dominik Szoboszlai said.
"I like to play with everyone, and they like to play with each other and with me. So at the end, we need everybody. The season is very long, and we want to be in all the competitions."
The Hungarian was speaking immediately after Liverpool had beaten Atletico Madrid in its best performance under Andoni Iraola to date, but only a few days later, the midfield questions that were present heading into the season re-emerged in a big way against Fulham.
When Szoboszlai has been paired with Ryan Gravenberch so far this season, it hasn't worked. Against Alvaro Arbeloa's men, just like at Newcastle on the opening weekend, the duo didn't look right. Given his Champions League showing, it was an odd call to take Alexis Mac Allister out against Fulham, too, and it backfired.
The problem is twofold: can Liverpool look balanced playing any combination of two players that it has in midfield with Florian Wirtz as a number 10, and are there the right profiles that complement each other well?
In reality, the answer is somewhere in between. If Liverpool has two top performers at the base of its midfield — just like it did with Szoboszlai and Mac Allister against Atletico — then it works a treat.
Iraola is chasing silverware at Liverpool
Iraola is chasing silverware at Liverpool(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
If anyone underperforms, though — as Szoboszlai and Gravenberch did against Fulham — then it all falls apart very quickly, with a negative impact on Wirtz and Alexander Isak too, who see the ball less often.
How, then, does it get fixed? Trey Nyoni could be one part of the solution, though just like with Rio Ngumoha last season, it would be unfair to ask a teenager to play every single week. It wouldn't be good for his long-term development either.
Another option — Wataru Endo — has been mentioned a lot to me this week, but he isn't a realistic possibility either.
"I think he’s still not at his best, but he’s training very well," Iraola said over the weekend when he was asked about the chances of Endo getting a go. "The problem is, in front of him in his position, I have a lot of players."
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Since he arrived at Liverpool, there has been no evidence that Endo can be a long-term fix — his passing range and his speed are simply too limited. At 33, he may not be able to play multiple games in succession even if he was suitable.
But having chosen not to sign a new midfielder in the summer, even when Curtis Jones left, the answer has to come from within.
Mac Allister will be a key part of it and a better-performing Gravenberch and Szoboszlai — two players who have signed long-term contract extensions in recent months — will have to be as well, but the pressure is on all three to make it work.
Iraola found the right balance at Bournemouth. Even if it takes a bit of time, he needs to at Liverpool as well.