Heading into this summer, it was clear that Liverpool needed to undertake a sizeable rebuild in order to rejuvenate the team. The squad had been allowed to grow stale as they failed to freshen things up in key areas, most notably the midfield.
Alexis Mac Allister and Dominic Szoboszlai have already been signed this summer, while the likes of Naby Keita, Roberto Firmino, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and James Milner have all left on free transfer.
While a rebuild was anticipated, not many would have predicted the sheer scale of the clear out Liverpool could carry out this summer. Jordan Henderson could also be on his way out of the club, although negotiations over his potential move to Saudi Arabia have proven difficult.
In contract, the deal to sell Fabinho to the Middle East is quickly progressing. Liverpool are said to be ready to accept a £40million bid for his services, with the player not travelling to Germany for pre-season with the rest of the squad today.
Liverpool fans all have same complaint after Fabinho news
Assuming Fabinho completes his move to Saudi Arabia, Liverpool will have to quickly bring in a replacement holding midfielder. A list of potential signings has already been linked to some prominent journalists that cover the club.
The likes of James Pearce (The Athletic), Melissa Reddy (Sky Sports), and Paul Joyce (The Times) have all reported the club are considering the likes of Romeo Lavia, Kalvin Phillips, Ryan Gravenberch, and Sofyan Amrabat to replace the departing midfielder.
A top class midfielder will be needed in order to fill the gap left by Fabinho. While he was not at his best last season, he was a genuinely world class holding player for much of his time at Anfield. As a result, the list of potential replacements has not inspired much confidence.
While none of the names mentioned above are bad players, they all come with certain risks. Lavia is very inexperienced, while Kalvin Phillips is injury prone and has completely flopped at Man City. Ryan Gravenberch has struggled at Bayern Munich and has lingering doubts about his physical profile, while Amrabat is also unproven at the top level.
In short, Liverpool fans hope that the club has another target that has not yet been reported on.
Sofyan Amrabat, Ryan Gravenberch, Kalvin Phillips and Romeo Lavia being our options when Fabinho leaves is so underwhelming, I think I might cry.
— - (@AnfieldRd96) July 15, 2023
Me if we sign Amrabat or Gravenberch to replace Fabinho. pic.twitter.com/WDv2qvIAj3
— Sam McGuire (@SamMcGuire90) July 15, 2023
If we sign Kalvin Phillips to replace Fabinho there's no point even selling him 👍🏻
— - (@JoshLFC1909) July 15, 2023
So let's breakdown that list:
• Lavia, top talent but lacking experience.
•Gravenberch is not a number 6 and he's always whinging.
• Amrabat is 27 in august and plays in Italy.
• Phillips plays for City, injury prone, 28 in December and bang average.— - (@JoshLFC1909) July 15, 2023
Are we seriously considering replacing Fabinho with Kalvin Phillips and u21 players?
— LFC Transfer Room (@LFCTransferRoom) July 15, 2023
Just woke up to here the rain battering on the window in mid July and Kalvin Phillips name as an option to replace Fabinho.
Am off me. https://t.co/poq9xxFCDq— ᴘᴀʙʟᴏ (@_paultommo) July 15, 2023
Kalvin Phillips as a signing makes absolutely zero sense.
He’ll be 28 this season, injury prone, coming off a season of around 300 PL minutes and City won’t sell to us on the cheap, so would be around £40m.
Would be horrific business. May as well keep Fabinho.— Laurie (@LFCLaurie) July 15, 2023
'Romeo Lavia, Sofyan Amrabat, Ryan Gravenberch and Kalvin Phillips.'
As for replacing Fabinho, I'm not wholly comforted by that shortlist.— Ste Carson 🌱 (@sjrcarson) July 15, 2023
In short, they will be hoping for better if they lose one of the most important parts of their team.
Having already made a couple of impressive signings during this window, Liverpool now have another big decision to make over the coming days.
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