Liverpool face same Chelsea transfer headache after Henderson and Fabinho sales

Liverpool have a lack of leaders in the centre of the park following the sales of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson. Jurgen Klopp has brought in some excellent additions to his midfield this summer with Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai joining the fold – but both are still young in their respective careers.

Liverpool would benefit from an experienced head in the position to organise and lead the line, especially given the Reds’ growing crop of talented young midfielders. Harvey Elliot, Curtis Jones and Stefan Bajcetic are in need of a mentor to mould them into the best possible versions of themselves – and there doesn’t seem to be a stand-out player in the squad that can take on this role.

It is therefore imperative that Klopp signs a player who can stamp his authority in the middle of the park, to avoid the same mess that Chelsea find themselves in. After the departures of Mason Mount and Mateo Kovacic, as well as Jorginho in January, the Blues are also in desperate need of a midfield leader. Henderson and Fabinho were known as dressing-room leaders, particularly the former skipper, who has been massively influential on the careers of multiple first-team players.

One of those is transitioning midfielder Trent Alexander-Arnold, who told BBC Radio 5 Live back in 2018: “He’s definitely a mentor of mine [Henderson]. There’s a few [players] you quietly sit and watch to see how they go about their day.

“He’s definitely one of the ones over the course of the two years I’ve been with the [Liverpool] first team I’ve watched closely, and I’ve tried to pick up things he does that can make me a better player.”

The Reds are understood to be in the market for a holding midfielder following the departure of Fabinho to Al Ittihad for £40million and have been linked with a long list of players including Southampton’s Romeo Lavia, Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat, Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch and Kalvin Phillips of Manchester City.

Among those names, the ideal signing in terms of his qualities both on and off the pitch, would be Amrabat. The 26-year-old captained Morocco to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup and ranks among the best players in the world for ball recoveries and pass completion rates.

The only issue is that Manchester United look the most likely to snap him up. According to Sport Italia, the Red Devils have agreed to pay Fiorentina’s £30m asking price for the player and will proceed with the deal once they have wrapped up the transfer of Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta. Klopp may want to consider making a move for the Morrocan star now in order to steal a march on United.