Throughout the 2022/23 season, Liverpool had only three midfielders at their peak between the ages of 22 and 28, and two combined for just 499 minutes.
Of Liverpool’s 10 midfield options last season, they had two aged 20 and under and five older than 29 years of age – their average age was 27.2.
Only Naby Keita (28), Arthur (26) and Curtis Jones (22) fell into the prime age bracket between 22 and 28 – and two were long destined to leave the club this summer.
There could be no denying it was not a well-balanced department, with Liverpool’s lack of investment in midfield abundantly clear by a statistic that showed just seven percent of their midfield minutes came from prime aged players.
It was the lowest in the Premier League, as only Keita and Jones accounted for a combined 566 league minutes, with Arthur‘s only appearance coming in the Champions League.
It was an issue that needed rectifying this summer and the club have taken two significant steps forward by signing Alexis Mac Allister (24) and Dominik Szoboszlai (22).
Their addition to the squad plus the departure of four midfielders has seen the average age in the position drop from 27.2 years to 24.75.
This would drop further if 19-year-old Romeo Lavia made the move to Anfield.
With Jurgen Klopp requiring high energy from his squad, it is a wonder that Liverpool failed to address the issue for so long and they paid the price last season.
But in Jordan Henderson (32), Thiago (31), Fabinho (29), Mac Allister (24), Szoboszlai (22), Curtis Jones (22), Harvey Elliott (20) and Stefan Bajcetic (18), they have a revitalised midfield unit.
There is still development and evolution required but the club have addressed the gaping hole that was in the squad, notably in time for both new signings to start pre-season with the majority of the squad.
They can take the next step by landing a future prime aged midfielder in Lavia, but only time will tell if they can secure his signature for 2023/24 and beyond.
