Liverpool's Midfield Solution: Why Klopp Should Target Vitaly Janelt

Liverpool’s midfield problem has an obvious answer – and Jurgen Klopp has just underlined it.

Ask any Liverpool supporter where the squad still feels light and the response comes back almost instantly: central midfield. Not more flair, not another forward. A midfielder who can glue it all together.

Right now, Andoni Iraola is trying to run a high-octane, front-foot system with a middle of the pitch that doesn’t quite fit. His game depends on an aggressive press and control in central areas. The structure demands cohesion. The individuals, on paper, are good enough. Together, they don’t yet work.

That’s the crux of it. Together.

A midfield built on mismatches

The imbalance is obvious. Iraola is overloaded with similar profiles and short on the one piece that makes the others make sense.

Dominik Szoboszlai is built for chaos and pressure. He wants to hunt the ball, chase lost causes, force mistakes. In Iraola’s world, that’s gold – but only if there is someone behind him who can sit, connect play and run the game from deeper zones.

Ryan Gravenberch isn’t that player. He wants to carry the ball, surge past opponents, play on the half-turn. Asking him to anchor a midfield and orchestrate build-up play wastes his strengths and exposes his weaknesses.

Alexis Mac Allister is closer to the profile Iraola needs. He can drop in, receive under pressure, and pass through lines. Even so, it’s not his most natural role, and Liverpool have already seen the limits of stretching him into a full-time holding midfielder.

The ideal solution might eventually be Trey Nyoni. The talent is there, the skill set promising. But that’s the long-term picture. The question today is whether Liverpool can afford to throw a teenager into the most demanding role in the system and hope he swims.

They need a bridge. A specialist who can hold the fort now and buy Nyoni time to grow.

Klopp points at the answer

That’s where Vitaly Janelt walks into the conversation.

Klopp’s first Germany senior squad selection included a few talking points, but one name in particular jumped out: the Brentford midfielder earning his first call-up. It isn’t a sentimental pick. It’s a reward for exactly the attributes Liverpool are missing.

Janelt has quietly put together the kind of numbers that scream “pressing side lynchpin.” He has covered the third-most distance in the Premier League this season, racking up 58.8 km. He also sits fifth for interceptions, averaging 3.20 per 90 minutes.

Those aren’t vanity stats. They paint the picture of a midfielder who reads danger, closes gaps, and never stops moving. He thrives in high-intensity football – the very reason Klopp has turned to him at international level.

The same logic applies at club level.

Iraola wants his team to swarm, suffocate, and then play. Janelt fits that blueprint. He can sit in, protect the defence, step out to win the ball, and still offer enough quality in possession to knit things together. He doesn’t need to be the star. He just needs to be the platform.

At 28, he’s in his peak years. Old enough to handle the responsibility, young enough to cover every blade of grass. Crucially, he wouldn’t slam the door on Nyoni’s pathway. He would hold it open, keeping standards high while the youngster develops at a natural pace instead of being hurled in as a quick fix.

Liverpool don’t need another marquee name in midfield. They need the right one.

Klopp has already shown what kind of player he trusts for this sort of football. Janelt fits that mould. The only question now is whether Liverpool see the same solution staring them in the face.