How Liverpool could line up in a new formation after four dream signings in the summer

Liverpool have shelved plans to target Borussia Dortmund and England sensation Jude Bellingham but will be very busy in the summer transfer

Liverpool have put on hold plans to target Borussia Dortmund and England sensation Jude Bellingham when the transfer market reopens.

Speculation about the generational talent and his future with the Bundesliga has been as much talked about as proposals to revamp Anfield’s engine room. However, after being reported at the top of Bellingham’s tidy signing queue, Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool will now look elsewhere.

The Liverpool ECHO understands that the Premier League giants have decided it’s better to spread money across multiple signings than to allocate the majority of the budget to one big cash arrival.

Therefore, interest in 19-year-old Bellingham has clearly cooled down. So what’s next for Klopp and the recruitment team? Well, although they avoid Bellingham – at least during the next summer transfer window – the midfielder will still be the primary focus and several top names have been linked in that regard ahead of the proposed moves.

From the Premier League only, you can note Mason Mount (Chelsea), Youri Tielemans (Leicester City), Ruben Neves (Wolves), Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton) as possible targets, with Inter Milan star Nicolo Barella among the Alternatives is carrying on business elsewhere in Europe.

As it stands, Tielemans is set to become a free agent but could lack intensity for a Klopp side, while Mount and Neves are in a contractual stalemate with their current employers as the two have no only 14 months to finalize their agreements. Caicedo, Mac Allister and Barella would each cost a pretty penny – but not on the same scale as Bellingham, who would be valued by Dortmund in the £130m category.

While this might be a price worth paying, by spreading the budget Liverpool would be able to sign two or three quality midfielders who would each add something different to the squad. Additionally, Klopp and the recruiting team could also invest some money in another versatile centre-back.

As further on, any signing could depend on expenses. Meanwhile, when it comes to this new hybrid lineup that Klopp has been unleashing in recent games, there is room for Trent Alexander-Arnold to make a permanent move into the engine room.

In that scenario, all defensive recruits should be comfortable in threes or fours, so perhaps someone like Ajax prospect Jurrien Timber could be followed.

Here’s how Liverpool could line up next season if they sign Timber, Caicedo, Barella and Mount during the summer window.

Liverpool FC (3-2-2-3 formation): Alisson; Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Alexander Arnold, Caicedo; Barella, mountain; Salah, Nunez, Diaz.

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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp hints new Liverpool formation is here to stay – “It suits us”

With Liverpool finally “clicking” again in the 135th minute against Arsenal and Leeds, Jurgen Klopp has hinted that his new set-up is here to stay.

With his side in poor shape, Klopp moved his formation to a system closer to 3-5-2 in the last two games.

Trent Alexander-Arnold was central to both, moving from his natural right-back role to a position closer to midfield, allowing him to freely dictate play.

It took some time to settle in against both Arsenal and Leeds, but Klopp believes he really ‘clicked’ in the second half of the 2-2 draw with the Gunners. Speaking to Sky Sports following Liverpool’s 6-1 win against Leeds on Monday, Jamie Carragher asked the manager about his schedule behind the new formation.

In particular, Carragher asked Klopp if he was meant to get more out of Alexander-Arnold or to find a better defensive structure, with two midfielders sitting in the number 66 alongside Fabinho.
“It’s the best game we’ve played this season”?

Jürgen Klopp says his Liverpool side were ‘absolutely excellent’ against Leeds tonight? pic.twitter.com/En4cfkcSeV

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 17, 2023

“Because it’s Trent, it’s both,” he replied, before adding, “But overall you’re right. “We also have to protect ourselves better, because [in previous games] we gave away too many counter-attacks, we lost balls at the wrong time.

“Trent had a really good game, but once again, when we lost the ball, the reaction was completely different.

“We didn’t lose so many balls, because we were very calm on the ball.

“What we lost at the wrong time is obviously the goal we conceded. It’s no longer [a situation that] we can protect, but everyone else we need to be able to protect. “But the training suits us much better.”

While Liverpool have conceded three goals in their last two games, two came while still fit in the first half against Arsenal and the other came from an error by Ibrahima Konate at Leeds.

Overall, the Reds looked stronger defensively, while their eight goals scored – including six at Elland Road – are proof that this ‘super attacking formation’ can work.

“You think that to play better, first and foremost you have to take care of all the attacking things: dribbling, shooting, finishing,” Klopp continued.
“But you only get stability if you defend.

“We can be super attack-oriented – we have a super attacking formation with five, six players between and behind the lines – if we react at the right times. “I really can’t explain why our back pressure wasn’t there. We asked for it all the time, actually.
“But tonight it clicked. You actually clicked a lot in the second half against Arsenal.

“The direction we suddenly took in the game was because we were winning balls back.”

Liverpool have eight games to go in their bid for an improbable fourth-place finish, and Klopp concluded: “I hope these games and a half have given us the right signal for the rest of the season.”