Jurgen Klopp's New Favourite: Vitaly Janelt for Liverpool's Midfield

Ask any Liverpool supporter where the squad needs help and the reply comes back fast: midfield. Not another forward, not a full-back. Someone to sort out the chaos in the middle of the pitch.

That urgency is real. Under Andoni Iraola, Liverpool are trying to play a high-energy, front-foot game that lives and dies by the press. To make that work, you need a midfield that can both suffocate opponents and keep the ball moving from deep. Right now, Liverpool have pieces. They don’t yet have a unit.

Individually, this midfield can function. Collectively, it doesn’t quite add up.

A Midfield That Doesn’t Fit Together

The problem is balance. Iraola is overloaded with similar profiles and short of the one player who knits everything together.

Dominik Szoboszlai is built for this system. He wants to hunt, chase, harass. He thrives when he can press high and drive the game forward. But for him to shine, he needs a partner behind him who will sit, take responsibility in the build-up and patrol the space he vacates.

Ryan Gravenberch is not that player. He wants to carry the ball, glide past opponents, join attacks. Asking him to anchor the midfield and dictate from deep wastes his strengths and exposes the team.

Alexis Mac Allister comes closer to the profile Iraola needs. He can drop in, link play, and he reads the game well enough to operate as the deeper midfielder. Even so, that role doesn’t maximise his qualities either. He is a problem-solver, but not the perfect solution.

The ideal stylistic fit might actually be Trey Nyoni. Calm on the ball, comfortable operating deeper, and with the intelligence to manage space. The catch is obvious: he’s young, and Liverpool cannot afford to rush his development just to plug a short-term hole.

So the club need a bridge. Someone who can stabilise the midfield now without slamming the door on Nyoni later.

Enter Vitaly Janelt

That’s where Jurgen Klopp’s latest Germany call-up comes into focus.

For the first time as Germany boss, Klopp has named his own senior squad. Among the eye-catching inclusions is Brentford’s Vitaly Janelt, a player whose numbers and style scream “Iraola midfielder”.

Janelt has earned his place. In the Premier League this season, he has covered the third-most distance, clocking 58.8 km. He doesn’t just run for the sake of it, either. He ranks fifth for interceptions, with 3.20 per 90 minutes. Those are the numbers of a player who reads danger early and has the engine to act on it.

He is built for a high-intensity game. That’s exactly why Klopp has turned to him for Germany. It’s also why he looks tailor-made to solve Liverpool’s current midfield headache.

Janelt can sit deeper, protect the back line, and still step out to press on cue. He can free Szoboszlai to be the aggressor, give Mac Allister more freedom to influence higher up, and offer Iraola the defensive discipline his system demands.

At 28, he’s in his prime but not a long-term roadblock. He wouldn’t suffocate Nyoni’s pathway; he would buy the teenager time. Time to grow, to learn the demands of this system, to step in when he’s truly ready rather than when the squad is desperate.

Liverpool don’t need a superstar in that role. They need reliability, legs, and intelligence. Janelt brings all three.

For a team crying out for balance, Klopp’s new international favourite might just be the missing piece Iraola has been waiting for.