With the arrival of Florian Wirtz this summer, Liverpool’s lengthy midfield rebuild finally feels complete.
Ahead of Jurgen Klopp’s final campaign at Anfield, he saw the likes of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho head to Saudi Arabia, with Thiago Alcantara leaving on a free transfer.
Huge investment was made to bolster the midfield and even if they did miss out on the likes of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia who both headed to Chelsea, Liverpool have been no worse for it.
Indeed, the trio of Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai, all bought in the summer of 2023, played a decisive factor in the Reds’ title triumph just a few months ago.
Mac Allister and Gravenberch were particularly strong last term, with the former nominated for the Premier League’s Player of the Season gong and the latter nominated for Young Player, an award he fought off the competition to win.
Still, despite the arrival of Wirtz, perhaps Arne Slot and Co are not content just yet.
Liverpool looking at signing another midfielder
It’s unlikely the Merseysiders will welcome too many more players to Anfield this summer with a colossal amount of business already complete or on the verge of being completed.
Wirtz arrived in a mega £116m deal, making him British football’s record transfer, while Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez has also penned terms. Next on the agenda is Hugo Ekitike, set to sign from Eintracht Frankfurt and possibly also Crystal Palace star, Marc Guehi.
Liverpool’s raid of Palace may not stop there with any of Selhurst Park’s star players taking their fancy.
Indeed, according to reports via The Mirror, they are interested in signing midfielder Adam Wharton.
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However, they are set to have to wait until next year with Wharton deciding to stay in London for another season amid interest from Tottenham Hotspur.
That said, Liverpool are in fact in pole position to sign the England international in a year’s time. They may, however, have to shell out a fee of £100m to bring him to the north west.
Why Adam Wharton could be Liverpool's very own Martin Zubimendi
A year ago, it looked like for all the world that Martin Zubimendi would be donning the red of Liverpool.
The Spaniard had held talks about moving to the Premier League but ultimately, a deal failed to come to fruition. It was a blow, admittedly, and to see him head to Arsenal this summer will have been a bitter pill to swallow.
Liverpool did a lot of work on signing the Spaniard, but so did the Gunners, who wrapped a deal worth around £60m a few weeks ago.
Zubimendi is one of the finest around, described by Spain manager Luis de la Fuente as “one of the best midfielders in the world” while European football expert, Sid Lowe, has noted that he “is just about as good a deep-lying midfielder there is in Europe, apart from maybe Rodri.”
So, Arsenal have strengthened well by bringing the 26-year-old to the Emirates Stadium, but Wharton is cut from a similar cloth.
A “generational talent” in the words of former Sky Sports employee Matthew Stanger, Wharton has actually already been compared to Zubimendi by analyst Raj Chohan. Writing for Premier League Panel, he suggested that as a “press-resistant passer” he is the type of player who should be playing next to Declan Rice in England’s midfield.
Considering Arsenal have picked a similar profile in the form of Zubimendi to sit next to him in 2025/26 and beyond, there’s a lot of rhyme and reason behind Chohan’s argument here.
Aged just 21, Wharton has the world at his feet and his ability to not just break up the play but dictate the tempo of a game from a deep-lying position doesn’t just evoke memories of Zubimendi but also the aforementioned Rodri.
Indeed, Manchester City reportedly earmarked both players as their ‘perfect’ Rodri replacement when the Spaniard suffered his ACL injury last season.
Pass success %
76%
84%
Key passes
1.78
0.58
Progressive passes
7.33
5.93
Tackles won
0.96
1.12
Interceptions
1.37
1.34
Blocks
0.75
1.28
Progressive carries
0.96
1.16
Ball recoveries
6.99
4.26
Analysing the data, we can see where the similarities lie, notably in the fact that they get through the same degree of defensive work across tackles and interceptions.
While Zubimendi is perhaps crisper with his passing, Wharton is actually better when it comes to recovering the ball and creating opportunities to score for his teammates.
Of course, the Spaniard has been impressing over a longer time span, but by bringing the Eagles sensation to Anfield, whether it be this summer or next, they’d find their own version of Zubimendi, perhaps with a little more creativity and drive in the final third.
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