Liverpool's summer transfer window is one of the most strange markets ever witnessed from a Premier League champion.
The fact that they simultaneously recruit a series of stars from the Bundesliga and replace both winged defenders implies a great tactical change. It means that Jurgen Klopp's dynasty was really closed and a new era was starting.
However, Liverpool's recruitment of Alexander Isak from Newcastle after having Hugo Ekitike from Frankfurt, which is bringing The Reds' transfer to a completely unprecedented territory.
It has been a long time since the time of the “one-low one” strikers in the classic 4-4-2 diagram, we saw a top club bought at the same time two class-class centers in the same transfer.
So, coach Arne Slot is calculating? Here are 4 options that can work.
1. Diagram 4-2-3-1 super narrow with Wirtz, Ekitike and Salah support behind Isak
All the hypotheses below will need to “stuff the square leg into the round hole” – except for this first option.
Liverpool can deploy a 4-2-3-1 scheme with “wing strikers” such as Mo Salah and Ekitike extremely narrow, acting as the number 10 on both sides of Florian Wirtz, while the width of the yard will be guaranteed by the two high -ast defenders.
Jeremie Frimpong is a strong defender with a strong attack, which has made Salah often bundled in, while Ekitike also often deepened as a 10, even when starting as a striker – as illustrated in the chart below.
This system allows three “number 10” to rotate positions flexibly. For example, if Salah or Ekitike drift wings, the other will be narrow with Wirtz in the middle to form a box (along with Mac Allister and Gravenberch), a very popular tactical layout in English football today.
At some other times, Salah or Ekitike can also rise to Isak as a second striker, pull the whole box to one line and link with the remaining two numbers behind.
This is probably the most dynamic scheme that Slot can use to bring all 4 stars to the starting lineup, but it will obviously be a big “steering” compared to the Klopp period.
2. Ekitike replaces Diaz in the left wing striker position in the traditional 4-2-3-1 diagram
A simpler option is to bring Ekitike to kick left as a direct upgrade instead of Luis Diaz, in case the Colombian player to Bayern.
In fact, Ekitike has only 9 appearances (including two main kicks and a total of 324 minutes) in the left wing, but he often tends to drift to this corridor, especially throughout the 2023/24 season.
More importantly, the way Slot uses players like Gakpo or Diaz – those who are capable of taking the ball one one and penetrating thanks to the speed – very similar to the strong point of Ekitike.
At the Bundesliga last season, Ekitike ranked fifth in terms of the number of balls (126 times) and the number of dribbles leading to a shot (44 times). He also has 8 assists and ranks fifth in the number of times directly involved in the attacks.
Although there is not much experience in playing left, Ekitike clearly has the qualities suitable for that role in the Slot system.
3. Ekitike and Isak together in the same pair as in Frankfurt, in 4-2-2-2
Ekitike's most impressive performance at Frankfurt was when he was paired with Omar Marmoush, before Marmoush moved to Man City, Dino Toppmoller's 3-5-2 diagram was broken.
They often swap flexible positions, one person back down to pull the ball, the other invaded behind the defense. This rhythmfulness makes the opponent face many difficulties and helped Frankfurt compete the championship until December.
Liverpool is hard to switch to stone with three central defenders, at least because it means that Salah has to sit on the bench. However, there is still another plan to bring both Isak and Ekitike and kicked in despite many risks.
Slot used a 4-2-4 or 4-4-2 diagram when there was no ball, with Dominik Szoboszlai often acting as a third midfielder when Liverpool organized an attack.
But if you use a pure central midfielder like proposed here, Liverpool will be very fragile in the middle, especially in situations of fast change.
Not to mention there is another problem: Wirtz will have to kick left, his position is rarely in Leverkusen or Germany. It is highly likely that this option is only used when Liverpool is forced to attack. It was a bit like a gamble.
4. Ekitike and Wirtz play like two “numbers 8” style De Bruyne – Bernardo Silva
If option 3 sounds hard to believe, this idea is even more bold, but in theory, it can still be effective.
Wirtz has long been compared to Kevin De Bruyne, while Marroush – the old partner of Ekitike – was once pushed to the rock like De Bruyne in Man City.
Therefore, it is completely feasible if Ekitike is developed into a “8 hybrid 10” midfielder stone parallel to Wirtz, similar to the way Guardiola has arranged two “number 8” rich in attack on a single “6” number.
Guardiola has long been a great influence on Slot. It is the Dutch coach who once described Pep's style of playing as “the ultimate joy of football”. Slot may be trying to bring that influence to a new level by bringing the two “10/10” stones regularly.
However, English football is increasingly favoring speed and transferring state. Holding the ball is gradually less effective, so the top coaches now often prefer to use two pillars in the 4-2-3-1 scheme, instead of the two “numbers 8” as in the early stage of Guardiola at Man City.
When the big teams no longer controlled the ball absolutely and the opponent was no longer as deep as before, having a central midfield duo certain to fight counterattack was extremely important.
Gravenberch rarely can do that on his own. Even so, a 4-3-3 diagram of Man City will still be worth waiting for.
5. Ekitike is a backup plan for all 4 attack positions
In fact, Liverpool does not necessarily have to think of a strange squad to put all the new contracts on the field at the same time.
If everything goes smoothly, Liverpool will play more than 60 matches next season, and that means they need to rotate the attack continuously to ensure physical strength and surprise for the opponent.
A £ 69 million player like Ekitike plays a backup role that can be wrong, but in fact he can completely be the number two choice in all 4 attack positions, even though Szoboszlai, who competes with Wirtz, may oppose this judgment.
With a dense schedule, regular injuries and Slot will have many adjustments for each opponent, Ekitike can still play more than 30 matches in all competitions, even if not considered as the “strongest team” player.
In fact, at the top club level, the concept of “the strongest squad” now does not mean much. The coaches no longer think in that direction, because the competition density is too high and the risk of injury is always present.
An extremely famous example of this phenomenon that was pointed out by Duncan Alexander: The squad was considered a “standard” under the Klopp – the team kicked the Champions League final – actually never kicked together before and never reproduced later.
So, what is the solution for the problem? How to bring all Liverpool rookies into the same squad? The simple answer is: It is not necessary to do that.
