Liverpool make four-man Fabinho replacement list including Man City, Southampton stars – but not another linked Prem option
Liverpool midfielder Fabinho could be replaced by Kalvin Phillips or Romeo Lavia
After leaving Fabinho out of their pre-season tour to Germany, Liverpool have identified four possible replacements for the Al Ittihad target, according to a reporter.
Fabinho is on the verge of leaving Liverpool after he reached an agreement on personal terms with Al Ittihad. The Saudi Arabian side have already signed players like N’Golo Kante and Karim Benzema this summer and now have the former Monaco man on their radar.
In the wake of Al Ittihad’s £40m bid for Fabinho, Liverpool have excluded the defensive midfielder from their squad for the next part of their pre-season preparations.
It now seems likely that Fabinho’s fifth season with Liverpool will have been his last. And given that Jordan Henderson has been linked with his own Saudi switch to Al Ettifaq, the pressure will be on the Reds to get another new midfielder in.
Earlier in the summer, Liverpool signed Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton and Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig. Now, they need one more midfielder to complete their rebuild of the position.
Given that Fabinho usually plays as their deepest midfielder, they will need an enforcer to come in to similar territory.
With that in mind, Sky Sports reporter Melissa Reddy has revealed the four players Liverpool are considering to come in and fill the Fabinho void.
Reddy tweeted: “Liverpool had been assessing longer-term candidates to replace Fabinho. Profile might shift as they’ll require an immediate starter.
“Among the names mooted have been Sofyan Amrabat, Ryan Gravenberch, Kalvin Phillips and Romeo Lavia…
“Moises Caicedo not on their list.”
Phillips and Lavia already have Premier League experience, spending last season with Manchester City and Southampton respectively. However, Phillips struggled for gametime after leaving Leeds, while Lavia suffered relegation at his new club after leaving City himself.
Meanwhile, Amrabat plays for Fiorentina and stood out for Morocco at the World Cup, while Gravenberch has become unsettled already after his debut season at Bayern Munich.
However, the former Ajax star is less of a defensive midfielder than the other three names in question, who therefore might be more realistic options to consider.
Caicedo quickly ruled out
Links with Caicedo emerged on Friday, in what would be a second raid on Brighton this summer. However, the Ecuador international would come with a huge price tag, which is perhaps why Liverpool’s interest has quickly been played down.
Despite Mac Allister’s move, Brighton are actually one of the clubs to be benefitting from Liverpool’s midfield overhaul this summer. They took James Milner on a free transfer after the Reds released him.
Liverpool also dismissed Naby Keita to Werder Bremen, sent Arthur Melo back to Juventus and allowed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to become a free agent.
If they lose an even more important midfielder like Fabinho – even when he was out of form last season – it will become critical for Liverpool to replenish the ranks with one more recruit, perhaps to be picked from the list above.
