30 September 2023 , 11:44
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Graeme Souness has stopped short of naming Fabinho in the best Liverpool midfield of the Jurgen Klopp era.
The Brazilian moved to Anfield in 2018 and played a crucial part in their Premier League and Champions League successes. Fabinho moved on, somewhat surprisingly, this summer as he opted to take a lucrative offer from Saudi Arabia, but remains one of the club's most accomplished midfielders of modern times.
That said, Souness wouldn't have him in his ideal trio, instead picking Gini Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson and James Milner ahead of Fabinho. The foursome, alongside the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita, were often battling for starting roles but the former Red has made his feelings known.
Souness wrote in the Daily Mail : "I now see a midfield who are more skilled, extremely technically gifted, and yet still have the high work-rate of their predecessors. The best midfield in the eight years Klopp has been at the club consisted of Gini Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson and James Milner.
"That unit was extremely aggressive; constantly putting the opposite midfield under pressure to hurry and misplace their passes They would ‘keep their heads down’, as the pros call it – by which I mean, concentrating on the ball, rather than looking up and seeing the bigger picture.
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"None of that triumvirate I have named would be classed as technicians. But they had the fundamental thing which is often overlooked. A work ethic. They just gave 100% every time they crossed that white line."
Fabinho was a leading light during his time at Liverpool (Getty Images)Klopp previously declared that Fabinho was "one of the best in the world in that position" after putting in, yet another, accomplished display at the base of midfield. The Brazilian's versatility was also a huge plus with the player previously slotting into the back four.
Now, after a summer of huge upheaval, Klopp has had to rejig his midfield for the first time in his tenure, overseeing wholesale changes. Around £100million was spent on Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, who have quickly settled into life on Merseyside.
The Hungarian especially has shown his class, helping Liverpool win all but one of their games so far this season. He scored a rocket in their midweek win over Leicester City in the Carabao Cup. Klopp claimed during the week that "since the first minute of training he was pretty impressive"