Liverpool may well have failed to land a dynamic midfielder this summer, but Jurgen Klopp has hinted at an alternative

Even if Jurgen Klopp’s preseason experiment failed, it did reveal Liverpool’s future nomidfield strategy.

The Reds conceded four goals without responding as Manchester United easily defeated them in their preseason opener on Tuesday in Thailand. Erik ten Hag’s United career got off to the best possible start thanks to the outcome, but Klopp undoubtedly has more questions than answers.

Although it was “pretty freaky,” to say Klopp, that Liverpool didn’t manage to score, the truth is that United, Liverpool’s longtime rivals, outplayed the Reds for the majority of the preseason action in the 2022 Bangkok Century Cup match. On the surface, the somewhat inconsequential friendly seemed to offer very little good, but Klopp’s objectives for his midfield did become a little clearer.

As the summer transfer market opened, it was no secret that Liverpool wanted to sign a young, dynamic midfielder who could dominate in the middle of the park after failing to find Georgino Wijnaldum’s replacement the previous season. The Reds attempted to sign Monaco maestro Aurelien Tchouameni, but were unsuccessful.

In addition to eliminating Klopp’s team in the Champions League final in late May, Real Madrid added insult to injury by outbidding them to sign the Frenchman. Jude Bellingham of Borussia Dortmund is another player who is thought to be very much on Liverpool’s wish list, but it is now crystal evident that the gifted adolescent won’t be moving this summer.

Because of this, Klopp is believed to have put off his ambitions to sign a new midfield star for another year, but that hasn’t stopped him from publicly praising the upcoming England international. He’s not on the market, so that’s the first issue with that guy, admitted Klopp recently. The main issue with that player, obviously!

The Reds manager has been forced to come up with options as this window’s attempts to address the midfield hole appear to have failed. Additionally, on Tuesday, hints regarding the backup plan for the upcoming season were revealed at Bangkok’s striking Rajamangala National Stadium.
The German used a total of 32 men against United, rotating the 10 outfielders every 30 minutes, but one guy stood out above the others. Who is he? Harrison Elliott

In a performance that ultimately saw last season’s domestic cup double winners struggle to deal with the challenges offered by United, the 19-year-old, who has swapped the 67 shirt for one that fits his age, put in the most encouraging performance from a Reds standpoint. Elliott dazzled at times on Tuesday, determined to put the injuries that hindered his previous campaign in the rearview mirror. His bristling confidence and innovation proved to be one of the few aspects of Liverpool’s game that United struggled to contain.