Liverpool's Midfield Dilemma: Must Sell to Buy
Liverpool’s midfield puzzle is coming to a head.
With only a few weeks left in the summer window, the club have already moved early, bringing in three new faces. Links to Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye hint that the recruitment drive is far from over and that Richard Hughes still has room – and appetite – for change.
But there’s a hard stop in the way: the non-homegrown quota.
Liverpool’s first-team squad is full in that category. To bring anyone else in from abroad, someone has to go. They could pivot towards homegrown options, but the market has gone wild. Elliott Anderson and Morgan Rogers both moved for fees north of £115 million, a stark reminder of just how inflated English talent has become.
So the equation is simple, even if the decisions aren’t. To buy, Liverpool must sell.
Endo pushed towards the exit
Inside Anfield, the names at the front of that conversation are Wataru Endo and Calvin Ramsay.
Journalist Pete O’Rourke reports that Liverpool are now ready to listen to offers for Endo, the Japan international who arrived last summer as a short-term fix at the base of midfield. Ramsay has also been mentioned in the background, but with Andoni Iraola’s defence already looking fragile, the young Scot may yet be kept around as cover.
That leaves Endo as the likely sacrifice.
He is 34, just back from a major injury and entering the final year of his contract. From a purely strategic standpoint, this is the last realistic chance to recoup a fee for a veteran who may not be central to the next cycle of the team.
But there’s a sting in the tail. Moving him on without a clear successor would be a major gamble.
Liverpool felt the cost of an unbalanced midfield last season. Endo struggled at times, and when he dipped, there was no reliable, specialist number six to steady things. Ryan Gravenberch was tried there but never convinced as a consistent option. The club still chose to hand him a lucrative new deal, which effectively locks him into the squad for now, regardless of form.
If Endo goes, Liverpool cannot afford to get this next decision wrong.
A new number six becomes non-negotiable
The need is obvious. A proper defensive midfielder has been on every scouting list around Anfield for months.
Almost everyone who watched Liverpool last season could see it: the side lacked a natural anchor. The links have reflected that. A string of holding midfielders have been mentioned as possible targets, and the sense inside and outside the club is that the next big move has to be for a number six.
Two names stand out in the current noise: Marc Casado and Adam Wharton.
Casado’s situation looks the more straightforward. Barcelona have told the young midfielder he can leave, opening the door for clubs like Liverpool to move if they believe he fits the profile. It would be a development signing, a bet on upside and tactical intelligence.
Wharton is different. Crystal Palace do not want to sell. He would cost serious money – around €100 million – and any deal would require Liverpool to commit heavily, both financially and in terms of building a midfield around him. But in pure football terms, of the two, he makes the most immediate sense: proven in the Premier League, composed on the ball, aggressive without it.
There is still time for the landscape to shift. Other names can appear. Other exits might yet create different openings.
Right now, though, the path is clear. With Endo on the market and the squad’s non-homegrown slots locked, Liverpool’s next major move almost has to be for a new defensive midfielder.
The only real question is whether they will pay the price – in fees, in faith, and in timing – to finally solve the position that has defined their ceiling for the past year.
