Isco
Liverpool went through a rollercoaster of ups and downs in the recently concluded campaign. Jurgen Klopp’s men were annihilating teams all across Europe, and they made it to the Champions League final as well. But it all ended in tears when the Merseyside club lost 3-1 to Real Madrid, as they lifted the trophy for a third consecutive time.
Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius endured a nightmarish game, as he was solely responsible for two of Madrid’s goals. All in all, the Reds were quite inspiring throughout the campaign and they can only go forward from here.
Having finished in the 4th spot in the Premier League, they will return to play in the Champions League again next year. To be fair, there are numerous positives for Klopp and his men from the recent season. But Liverpool must now focus towards winning titles and more in the campaigns to come.
While they have secured deals for Fabinho and Naby Keita, Liverpool’s pursuit of Lyon’s Nabil Fekir fell through at the penultimate moment. Hence, Klopp must now turn to alternatives, and Isco Alcaron of Real Madrid has been touted as a possible replacement.
Here, we take a look at how Isco could fit into Liverpool’s new-look midfield.
Keita is expected to slot straight into Klopp’s squad and he could become the perfect box-to-box midfielder for the Reds. He worked wonders in his two seasons with RB Leipzig and the 23-year-old will surely make a huge difference to the Liverpool side.
If Isco moves to the Merseyside, he should be deployed as the central attacking midfielder. The Spaniard would thrive in a supporting role behind the likes of Mane, Firmino and Salah. Furthermore, his creativity and vision could make him the man to pull the strings to aid the attack.
Fabinho’s signing from Monaco was a relatively quiet one but the Brazilian could be the one to oust Jordan Henderson from the squad. He is expected to take up his role as the deep-lying midfielder. With his tall, strong and commanding presence in the midfield, Fabinho will certainly be an upgrade to Henderson.
This formation would see Keita and Fabinho partner up as defensive midfielders, right behind the attackers. The right-wing would be occupied by Salah and Isco would play as an attacking midfielder through the middle. Meanwhile, Mane will take up his usual role on the left-wing. This would leave Firmino to play as a lone striker up front.
The diamond formation could fare well for Liverpool, considering Klopp used the same setup for their final league game of the season against Brighton & Hove Albion.
