Jurgen Klopp to have a completely new-looking midfield as we look at the confirmed squad for Liverpool for the 2023/24 season.
A new season awaits the Liverpool FC fans, and the talk of the town is once again the squad, which is in rebuild mode. Jurgen Klopp has a big task in hand to develop a team that can compete at the top level for the next few years to come. With Liverpool finishing the season outside the top 4 for the first time in the last 8 seasons, the situation demanded a few changes.
Undoubtedly, we will be looking at the new-looking Liverpool FC when they start the PL campaign against Chelsea on August 13 at Stamford Bridge. Right from the captaincy and vice-captaincy changes to the changes in playing 11, we will see a blend of fan favourites like Salah, Trent, VVD, Robertson and Alisson to the new stars in the making like Szoboszai and Mac Allister.
The most stable of all the departments is defence. Most of the players are in their early to mid-20s, and no immediate replacement is required in it. The one department which was more disappointing than others last season was the midfield. It was no surprise for the fans when they saw major changes in midfield.
The attack line needed no major changes as they already signed Darwin and Gakpo last season with a viewpoint of the next 3 to 4 seasons. So, what squad shall Liverpool FC would come up with for the 2023/24 season? Well, let’s break down the analysis into major categories, viz., goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards.
Goalkeepers
Main Keeper: Alisson Becker
Backups: Adrian, Marcelo Pitaluga, Caoimhin Kelleher
It’s a no-brainer that Alisson will be handling the gloves duties in Premier League and Europa League. Although there were rumours of Kelleher looking for regular game time outside Liverpool. But if Klopp’s words are to be believed, we won’t be seeing Kelleher going anywhere.
As it looks like currently, Kelleher will be handling the duties in both domestic cups, and maybe in the initial group-stage games of the Europa League. Whereas Adrian is an experienced keeper, who is more than a good option if an injury crisis happens at some stage of the season. One can expect Pitaluga to be loaned just like the last season, though he is currently with the team on preseason tours.
Defence:
Main Defenders: Andy Robertson, Ibrahima Konate/Joel Matip, Virgil Van Dijk, Trent Alexander Arnold
Backups: Joe Gomez, Kostas Tsimiskas, Nathaniel Philip
The most settled department of all is the defence. As the problems surfaced a couple of seasons back due to long-term injuries to Gomez, Virgil Van Dijk and Matip all at the same time. Klopp covered the base with new signings like Abraham Konate last season and Tsmiskas prior to that. So we don’t see much change here.
Ideally, one new signing should be done as a backup for TAA and Gomez, but that might not be the case in this transfer window as the priority is the midfield with lots of empty spaces to be filled in that.
Midfield :
Main Midfielders: Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliot, Thiago Alcantara
Backups: Romeo Lavia, Andre, Stefan Bajcetic
One department which needed the most renovation was the midfield. Naby Keita, who didn’t live up to the expectations along with Chamberlain, whose Liverpool career was bolted by injuries throughout was released in search of new talent.
Apart from them, the experienced duo of Milner and Henderson both catching up with the age also said their goodbyes to Liverpool fans as fresh legs were needed to play high-intensity football which Jurgen Klopp demands from his players.
The Reds have done a couple of very good signings in the form of Dominik Szoboszlai and Mac Allister. With Fabinho’s departure to Saudi Pro League, we can expect a couple of more signings in midfield. Belgian youngster Romeo Lavia is expected to join Reds as their initial bid is rejected by Southampton, but it is believed that the player has agreed on terms with Liverpool and it’s a matter of time before when the improved bid is accepted by Saints.
Another name that is coming up is Brazilian player Andre who pays for Fluminense. It will be interesting to see how things faired up in the next couple of days, and what changes we will be seeing in new-looking Liverpool’s midfield.
Forwards:
Main Forwards: Luiz Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo
In this Liverpool lineup, we don’t see any attacker as a backup option. All of them will be going to play a crucial role in the upcoming season. Apart from Salah, it is a completely different attacking line than the one which Liverpool fans saw winning them all.
This current batch of players has a lot of potential. But they have to prove their mettle at the highest level and there is no better opportunity than the upcoming season where many yesteryears superstars like Henderson, Milner, Firmino, Fabinho, Mane and Origi called it a day to their Liverpool career.
Liverpool Confirmed Squad for Season 2023/24:
Goalkeepers: Alisson Becker, Adrian, Marcelo Pitaluga, Caoimhin Kelleher
Defenders: Joe Gomez, Virgil Van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Kostas Tsimiskas, Andy Robertson, Joel Matip, Nathaniel Philip, Trent Alexander Arnold
Midfielders: Thiago Alcantara, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliot, Stefan Bajcetic, Romeo Lavia, Andre
Forwards: Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Luiz Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo
Manager: Jurgen Klopp
Thanks for reading! What’s your take on the squad for Liverpool for 2023/24? Please email your thoughts to footbalyticsofficial@gmail.com
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Akshay is an author at Footbalytics. His love for football started way back in 1998 when Ronaldo (Not Cristiano) was his first football hero, and the list keeps getting longer ever since.
Though Akshay is a Teacher by profession, he firmly believes that there is no better classroom than the Sports field and no better Teacher than Sports.