How will Liverpool line up with Fabinho?
By Elliot Howey
Liverpool announced the signing of Brazilian midfielder Fabinho on Monday. How will he fit into Jurgen Klopp’s lineup?
Just hours after a heart-breaking night in Kiev, Liverpool signaled their intent to make Champions League finals the new norm on Merseyside with the signing of Fabinho.
The highly-regarded Brazilian completed his move to Liverpool Monday in a $53 million move from Monaco. The Reds managed to beat off competition from Arsenal, sending a message to fans and rivals that Liverpool are back among the European elite.
Fabinho adds much-needed depth to Liverpool’s midfield. He adds power, height and big-game experience the Reds are lacking at the moment. So where does Fabinho fit in? With Naby Keita also set to join Liverpool this season, do Liverpool really need another midfielder?
The Reds have found success with their 4-3-3 formation this season. Their midfield three usually features one holding player, mostly Jordan Henderson and Juventus-bound Emre Can, and two more attack-minded options, some combination of James Milner, Georginio Wijnaldum, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and, before he was sold, Philippe Coutinho.
Keita has been used by RB Leipzig in a two-man midfield. His job is to support the attack, press the opposition and not just sit in front of the back four controlling the game. Keita has scored nine goals for Leipzig this year. Playing him as a defensive midfielder maybe a waste of his attacking talents and leave Liverpool vulnerable at the back if he ventures forward regularly.
Fabinho, then, appears to be a replacement for Can. He’s played as the defensive midfielder, alongside Youri Tielemans and Joao Moutinho, in Monaco’s 4-3-2-1, and at 6-foot-2 will add some size to a relatively small midfield. His job will be to control the space between Liverpool’s midfield and defense, breaking up any attacks and snuffing out counter-attacks.
If Fabinho does command a spot in the starting XI, Jurgen Klopp will either have to drop his captain, Henderson, or move him into a slightly different role. Given Liverpool’s lack of depth — as was clear to see in their 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League final on Saturday — that will be a nice problem for Klopp to have.
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Klopp has spoken about his struggles adapting to England’s hectic schedule, and his failure to sufficiently rotate his squad almost cost the Reds a spot in the top four last season. The German learned his lesson this season, rotating his side heavily over the winter months. However, the January sale of Coutinho and injuries to Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana and Emre Can meant the squad was stretched very thin by the time of Saturday’s final.
Whether Fabinho turns out to be a replacement for Henderson, or just another option in an area of the pitch where Liverpool need some depth, he’ll be a valuable addition to the squad. Expect to see him in a holding role in a 4-3-3, or perhaps next to Henderson and a forward-thinking central midfielder (Keita perhaps) in more of a 4-2-3-1. That he gives Klopp so many options is of course part of the reason the signing is so attractive.