How Liverpool could line up next season with Nabil Fekir joining Fabinho and Naby Keita

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  • Liverpool have moved swiftly to wrap up the signing of Fabinho from AS Monaco.

    With Naby Keita also set to join the squad ahead of next season, their midfield is already shaping up well and they may not stop there.

    Nabil Fekir has been heavily linked with a switch to Anfield of late and the Lyon skipper would bring a new dimension to Jurgen Klopp’s set-up.

    Here, we run through how Liverpool could set up next season should they land their summer targets, including Alisson Becker in goal.

    4-3-3

    Top heavy: 4-3-3

    Top heavy: 4-3-3

    An all-new midfield spells one thing for Liverpool and that’s goals. The Reds are already difficult to live with as an attacking force, and this system may just render the task impossible and ultimately futile. An all-action double pivot of Fabinho and Keita would compete with any opposition in the middle of the park and pose a serious goal threat as well.

    It’s only really worth playing Fekir if he can be accommodated in the number 10 role and this formation does just that. Playing at the tip of a three-man central midfield, the Frenchman should be in his element. Not only does he have the protection of the two midfielders behind him but a vibrant front three should provide him with a plethora of forward runs to hit with his slide-rule passes.

    The concern of course is him and Roberto Firmino occupying the same space but given the Brazilian’s intelligence and link-up play, the duo may prove to be more interchangeable – Fekir is deadly in front of goal as well – than in each other’s way.

    4-3-1-2

    Front two: 4-3-1-2

    Front two: 4-3-1-2

    Liverpool fans will recognise this formation as the one that defeated them in the Champions League final. Real Madrid have often deployed a 4-3-1-2 system with Isco operating in a role Fekir would relish, behind the front two.

    Wait, front ‘two’? Yes, that means disbanding the three amigos with Sadio Mane the most likely to drop out. Firmino’s movement and link-up play would have him play the Karim Benzema role with Salah focused on making runs off him and attacking the space in behind the defence, much like Cristiano Ronaldo would.

    Klopp could opt for this set-up either in an attempt to gain more control in midfield as Jordan Henderson, Keita and Fabinho would all feature or simply to adapt in the event of Salah, Mane or Firmino being rested or missing out through injury or suspension.

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