The FSG transfer problem that's been ignored FAR too long

Liverpool's recent history with defensive midfielders is a grim read and the club will continue to falter unless they find a way to get it right.

During the early years under Jurgen Klopp, you would see players like James Milner and Georgino Wijnaldum in the 'six', working tirelessly on and off the ball.

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When Fabinho was brought in as a specialist No. 6, the Reds were catapulted to a stratospheric level, finishing the 2018/19 season just one win away from a Premier League and Champions League double, where the Reds would've gone 'invincible' with 100 points.

That very next season, Liverpool won the league with a 99-point tally, breaking countless records for the earliest title win of all time.

Furthermore, the 2021/22 season could've gone very differently, with the team sitting just two wins away from a quadruple - winning the EFL Cup, the FA Cup, finishing Premier League runners-up by one point and losing the Champions League final to a generational performance in goal from Thibaut Courtois.

When you have a reliable No. 6, you can do extraordinary things. Liverpool are more aware of that than most, and you only need to take a look at Manchester City without Ballon D'Or winner Rodri for confirmation.

In the years following that 2021/22 season, however, things have gone downhill quickly and there is one clear culprit.

The failures under Jurgen Klopp

Fabinho left the club for Saudi Arabia after the 2022/23 season and it doesn't take a genius to work out why that happened.

For all of his efforts during his time at Liverpool, it was clear that the Brazilian had run his course. His legs had gone and Liverpool were hampered badly by ineffectiveness.

The club finished the campaign in fifth, which led to the following season being spent in the Europa League.

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Attempts to sign Aurelien Tchouameni before he joined Real Madrid had failed and hopes for Jude Bellingham to move to Merseyside followed suit, with Los Blancos coming out on top.

But the defensive midfield role needed a replacement, Jordan Henderson's legs were gone so he was moved on, and Milner went to Brighton.

The genius of Michael Edwards had also left the club, leaving the Reds' midfield rebuild to be overseen by Jorg Schamdtke and to his credit, he did a phenomenal job.

Of course, many will focus on the Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia snubs, but Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister are some of the best transfer this club have made over the past decade - and trust me, we've made some belters over the years.

The only problem was the No. 6 role, which was trusted to Wataru Endo, a 30-year-old from Stuttgart, who took everyone by surprise. Ryan Gravenberch was also brought in, but he was very much a transfer that no one had any idea what to do with.

2023/24 ended up being Klopp's last season at the club, and while the Reds came up short in their attempts to win the Premier League, a 10th EFL Cup was brought home and the team instantly looked refreshed for the transfers.

Endo and Mac Allister performed admirably in conjunction with each other, sharing the responsibilities of the No. 6 role, and Szoboszlai and Gravenberch collaborated with Jones and Elliott as the team's No. 8s.

But when the season came to a close, it was still very much apparent that a defensive midfielder was required. In one sense, Klopp could've pushed harder for one, but in another, FSG failed in their endeavour to find one - although plenty needed to be done in that transfer window, so potentially it's excusable.

New season, same problems remain

When the 2024/25 season rolled around, yet more change was happening at Liverpool.

A midfield rebuild wasn't required, but the executive structure was taking shape as Michael Edwards was back in town and Richard Hughes had been taken from Bournemouth to become the club's sporting director.

FSG also had the not-so-small task of finding a new manager to lead the team onwards from the Klopp era, with Feyenoord's Arne Slot as the chosen candidate.

Martin Zubimendi was the latest target in the ongoing No. 6 hunt, although after a month of negotiations, he left the club with egg on their face and other than Federico Chiesa being signed on deadline day, little other business was completed.

And so the role remained open. Slot didn't favour Endo from the start, Mac Allister took little persuasion to be fielded in his natural position as a No. 8 and Gravenberch was handed the reigns in defensive midfield, a move that has proved to be one of the most genius decisions of all time - the 23-year-old is breathtakingly good.

Despite failing in the fourth round of the FA Cup to Plymouth Argyle, getting knocked out of the Champions League round of 16 to PSG and losing the EFL Cup final, this season will forever be looked at as a success, if the Reds can hold on and secure a 20th league title.

But seven months into the season, the team has had a bit of a wobble and the same problems are at fault.

Gravenberch is knackered having been given 3441 minutes, compared to his 1856 minutes, Mac Allister has the same number of minutes as last season (3498) despite still having nine games to play and Endo has just 773 minutes compared to 2780 last season.

The No. 6 position has been handed solely to Gravenberch and the team is feeling the effects of it.

Last season, Klopp's team ran out of legs, although the defensive midfield responsibilities were shared, whereas this season the team is only beginning to run out of legs while the No. 6 role is less flexible in Slot's system because he doesn't rate Endo.

While Slot could definitely be more flexible in his approach, there is only really one reason why we're in this mess.

In summary: FSG are the problem

As mentioned at the beginning of this piece, a stable No. 6 is essential to a successful team.

Failures to bring in a Fabinho replacement under Klopp led to decline, although last season, the German found a way for the club to compete again.

But the problem remained, and the failure to bring in a defensive midfielder is still haunting the team - Gravenberch needs an understudy.

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Now that Edwards is back at the club, the hope is that the Reds will have a summer spending spree where the needs and wants of the team are finally addressed.

For example, a centre-back replacement is necessary after Joel Matip left, Andy Robertson is struggling at left-back so he or Kostas Tsimikas will need replacing, and both Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota are underperforming, so a striker is needed.

In addition, Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold might leave this season upon the expiration of their contracts, and if they leave then they will need to be replaced.

But regardless of what business is done, the only way that Liverpool will get back to their peak levels is if a defensive midfielder is bought - it's a problem that has been left unresolved for far too long and the evidence is clear for all to see.

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