Liverpool may have just elevated its transfer plan without making any more signings, with a big Fabinho call casting one Jörg Schmadtke deal in a better light.
It’s a big few days for Jörg Schmadtke. The Liverpool sporting director rejected reports of a three-month contract, reiterating that he signed a one-year deal, but confirmed that there is a plan to sit down with the club soon and assess how the relationship is working out.
Neither Liverpool nor Schmadtke are likely to have envisaged that it would be such a busy summer. From planning retirement, the German operator was plunged into transfer chaos, with the departures of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to Saudi Arabia supercharging the midfield rebuild.
The deal for Alexis Mac Allister was more or less wrapped up before Schmadtke arrived on the scene. But the remaining three pieces of incoming transfer business have his fingerprints on them, with a trio of Bundesliga talent brought to Anfield to bolster Jürgen Klopp’s midfield.
There are certainly no early complaints about Dominik Szoboszlai, who has been a revelation in his first few games. Of course, Liverpool is hardly a first-time buyer from the Red Bull stable of clubs, but the Schmadtke seal of approval on this one looks as though it was well-placed.
As for Ryan Gravenberch, he’s another who Liverpool had tracked long before the arrival of Schmadtke. The German’s contacts no doubt helped to get the deal over the line, but the talent identification had already been done. Yet to feature, it’s a transfer that could clearly go either way, but it’s a relatively low-risk move with a lot of upside.
The one transfer that truly has Schmadtke all over it is the signing of Wataru Endō. The Japan captain’s name came out of the blue, with Liverpool only turning to him after pursuits of Moisés Caicedo and Roméo Lavia came to nothing. Something of an emergency signing, it seems fair to infer that the club leaned most heavily on its sporting director for this move.
As the Fabinho replacement, it has to be said that Endō looks like a rather alarming piece of transfer business. The 30-year-old is a seasoned operator, and his relatively low profile up to this point should not count too much against him, but the pivot from a record bid for Caicedo to the Stuttgart man was undeniably dizzying.
His immediate involvement after signing painted a worrying picture. Used off the bench the very day after arriving, his first start soon followed, in a tricky fixture away at St James’ Park. It truly seemed as though Klopp intended to use Endō exactly as he had used Fabinho, with no real indication that this represented any major upgrade.
But the last few days have altered the equation. The arrival of Gravenberch changed things a little — he can play as a number six, even if he is better suited to the number eight role. The biggest change, though, came from Klopp’s approach against Aston Villa.
In that match, the manager’s Fabinho call became clearer: Klopp has opted not to replace him at all. Instead, Liverpool will seemingly pursue a system whereby the defensive load is shouldered a little more collectively — with the pressing traps working again, that’s made a lot more plausible.
All of Liverpool’s number eights have a degree of bite to their game. Gravenberch is very active defensively, while Mac Allister and Curtis Jones have both played in the number six role in the past, as has Thiago. Szoboszlai is certainly more offensive by nature, but has impressed off the ball as much as on it in his first few appearances.
For certain fixtures, Klopp might still prefer Endō from the start. He has not been shunted to the bottom of the pecking order. But by moving away from the way of playing which peak Fabinho made possible, the Liverpool manager has ensured Schmadtke’s wildcard signing can fulfil a more appropriate squad role.
As something of a James Milner replacement, able to come on to help Liverpool hold on to results and put out fires, Endō looks like very shrewd business. He also brings some of the experience that was lost when the 37-year-old left the club, along with captain Jordan Henderson.
Endō even has versatility to his game, having spent his earlier years as a center-back. Whether Liverpool will utilize that remains to be seen, but Klopp has a player who can be used in a variety of different circumstances.
In that kind of squad role, signing Endō makes a great deal of sense. Klopp’s new vision for the Liverpool midfield might just have unlocked the transfer plan — and whatever the future holds at the club for Schmadtke, he can point to a deal that looks pretty shrewd in this new light.
