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We're still two weeks away from the end of the autumn international break, and Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola will be itching to get back into the swing of things.
It's been a promising start for the former Bournemouth boss, who is unbeaten after seven games in all competitions, but an uptick in defensive stability has now been followed by fluency in attack. In that, some of the remnants of last year's decline under Arne Slot remain.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot
It feels like Iraola's side lack glue from which the system could be bound together. How to find such a quality? Well in midfield, things haven't been quite right for a while, and there's a case to be made that Fabinho still hasn't been replaced.
Fabinho's brilliance for Liverpool
Fabinho may well be the most underrated superstar of the Jurgen Klopp era at Liverpool. He was among the most industrious and intelligent midfielders in Europe when in his prime, even hailed by Gary Neville as "the best in the world" back in 2019.
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He never overcomplicated things, passing securely and anchoring the engine room with the kind of authority that allowed Klopp's ferocious frontline to prowl around helpless Premier League and Champions League defences.
That said, he did seem to falter earlier than FSG might have liked. Sold to Al-Ittihad for £40m in 2023, Fabinho had been at the epicentre of Liverpool's collapse in 2022/23, leggy and sapped at the heart of Klopp's high-octane system. Liverpool failed to qualify for the Champions League that year.
Since Fabinho's sale, the Anfield side have celebrated a number of titles, including the 2024/25 Premier League trophy under Slot's management.
But Fabinho may never have been properly replaced.
How Liverpool have failed to replace Fabinho
In 2023, Liverpool signed Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo. The first three combined to super-charge Slot's system to the league title in his first year.
Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister
Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister
Across Slot's first season in charge, it worked. Lightning in a bottle? Well, there's certainly something to be said about that midfield three's connectivity. They came together perfectly, and Liverpool's imbalances and lack of fluency thereafter illustrate the point.
But last year, Liverpool lost control in the centre of the park, imbalanced and out of sync after big-money moves were made to sign Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz and now Bradley Barcola - all for fees in excess of £100m.
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Ex-Anfield sporting director Richard Hughes failed to address glaring issues in midfield this summer,
Ward has flown out to sign Liverpool's new Fabinho
Julian Ward has been sworn in as Liverpool's new sporting director, and he must attack the role with more incisiveness than Hughes before him.
Signing a midfielder has to be Liverpool's priority, and the 45-year-old may well have taken a big step toward making that fix already, with Anfield Watch confirming that he flew to Monaco at the end of the transfer window to discuss a move with in-demand midfielder Lamine Camara.
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Camara, 22, came within a whisker of signing for Chelsea on deadline day, but it's understood that Liverpool was always his preference. However, FSG did not firm up their interest, instead imploring the £60m-rated player to stay put and wait until 2027, when they would make their move.
"We are probably talking about one of the best midfielders in the world," said Monaco manager Filipe Luis. Hyperbolic? Perhaps to some, but there's no question that Camara is doing all the right things as he continues to make headway in France.
Some players can be affected by the collapse of big-money moves. Not Camara. Thus far in 2026/27, he was won over nine duels and made more than nine ball recoveries on average each Ligue 1 match, mopping up danger with a flourish. No Ligue 1 player has won more tackles this season than the Senegal international's 26.
This is exactly the kind of profile Liverpool need in the middle of the park. Iraola's options simply aren't cut out for relentless defensive work - not even Mac Allister, who lacks the robustness that once characterised his game at the heart of a World Cup-winning team and Liverpool's Premier League titlists.
Gravenberch was silky-smooth and elegant when combining with partners Mac Allister and Szoboszlai in a way in which gave rise to his finer qualities. That precise combination hasn't come together since, and Liverpool's exposure without a Fabinho-esque No. 6 has never been more apparent.
Iraola needs someone such as Camara to lift his outfit to the next level. It is not his fault that Liverpool opted against prioritising that important issue, but he will face the brunt of the criticism if Liverpool flatter to deceive.
In any case, Camara could solve a lot of problems, and he may be worth the wait.
Jeremie Frimpong for Liverpool-1
Jeremie Frimpong for Liverpool-1