Coach Jurgen Klopp is in the process of “refreshing” Liverpool’s midfield and it is surprising that he does not use a pure number 6 in the squad.

Last summer transfer period, coach Jurgen Klopp said goodbye to a series of pillars in Liverpool’s midfield, typically including Fabinho, Jordan Hendeson, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Naby Keita.

Instead, The Kop recruited younger players such as Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and a “veteran” from the Bundesliga, Wataru Endo.

Currently, Allister and Szoboszlai will almost start in the Liverpool midfield, the remaining positions will be the story of Endo, Gravenberch, Elliot and Curtis Jones

It can be seen that among the names mentioned above, except for Endo, no one is a true number 6, which is quite strange with coach Jurgen Klopp’s tactics when experiencing each team, the German coach is always Use a pure “scanner”.

Not buying a high-class number 6 and rarely using Endo, coach Klopp mainly uses the midfield trio of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones (or Harvey Elliott) and often brings Ryan Gravenberch onto the field from the bench. reserve.

With the above names not being true interception midfielders, the defensive duties have been shared equally among all members of the midfield.

Heatmap of Szoboszlai’s range.

It can be seen that, with Szoboszlai, although he often operates on the right side of the midfield, when competing to steal the ball, he moves very wide to help his teammates regain control.

Remarkable defensive ability of the Hungarian midfielder.

At this point, fans will wonder why coach Jurgen Klopp does not use Endo, a pure “scanner” who has been trained in a physical environment like the Bundesliga.

However, the Japanese star’s parameters show that he is just a mid-range midfielder in Germany with a set of skills in disputes, duels, ball recovery, and regaining control in the area. The final third of the field or blocking shots are not very impressive.

The parameters are less impressive from Endo.

In addition, Endo does not have the same range of motion across the field as high-class stars like N’Golo Kante or Fabinho. The former Stuttgart midfielder’s main “area” is on the right side of the midfield, where Szoboszlai is in charge.

Endo’s range chart in the Japanese national team shirt at the 2022 World Cup.

In addition, we must also mention Alexis Mac Allister, a face who, although not inclined towards defense, has good positional sense and the ability to distribute the ball. The heat chart of the Argentine star’s range in the last 3 Premier League seasons shows that he is quite versatile and can adapt well to many different roles in the midfield.

Mac Allister is capable of taking on many different roles in the midfield.

Obviously, with the effectiveness of Mac Allister and Szoboszlai, coach Jurgen Klopp can comfortably implement his forte pressing strategy without worrying too much about having to use a pure number 6 like he used to do. in the past.