Liverpool open fresh talks to sign Anfield’s best midfielder since Fabinho

There may well have been a fair few eyebrows raised at the sight of Fabinho lining up in a Brazil shirt at this summer’s World Cup, three years on from the midfielder’s Liverpool exit.

At the time, it appeared the ageing star was heading to Saudi Arabia to wind down his career, having endured a particularly difficult final season at Anfield. The legs, as they say, had well and truly gone.

And yet, here he is again on the global stage, hoping to try and replicate the form that once made him such a force under Jurgen Klopp, arguably the “best” in the world circa 2019, as per Gary Neville.

The likes of Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch have arrived since, yet the Brazilian remains the cream of the crop when it comes to post-Steven Gerrard midfielders on Merseyside, such a key cog in Klopp’s relentless winning machine.

As a new era begins now under Andoni Iraola, the Reds could do with a similar sprinkling of midfield genius heading into next season.

Liverpool open fresh talks to sign £60m midfielder

It’s no secret that FSG’s priority this summer is finding a suitable replacement for the departing Mohamed Salah, with Ivory Coast speedster Yan Diomande at the top of the shortlist by all accounts.

In terms of midfielders, the Merseysiders don’t appear to be joining the rush for a string of high-profile targets, seemingly not in the race for the likes of Mateus Fernandes, Sandro Tonali and Elliot Anderson.

There have been whispers regarding long-standing interest in Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, although the Englishman is unlikely to come cheap, particularly with Anderson and co setting something of a benchmark with regard to Premier League price tags.

Looking abroad for the next big thing might well prove more serene, therefore, with TEAMtalk reporting that Liverpool have joined Arsenal in opening fresh enquiries regarding a deal for Lille starlet, Ayyoub Bouaddi.

As per the report, the Premier League pair, alongside Real Madrid, have stepped up their interest after opening talks with the player’s camp, albeit with the Gunners currently holding the advantage.

Liverpool have certainly ‘joined the queue’ either way, potentially encouraged by the suggestion that the 18-year-old could be available for just over £60m – representing a world-record fee for a teenager.

Why Bouaddi could be Liverpool’s best since Fabinho

With £120m price tags being banded about for the likes of Anderson, the prospect of potentially landing Bouaddi for roughly half of that figure could actually represent something of a bargain for Iraola and FSG.

He may still only be 18, although the Moroccan already has just over 100 senior appearances to his name to date for club and country, 99 of which have come back at Lille.

Born in France yet now turning out for Morocco, Bouaddi has been breathtaking at this summer’s World Cup so far, stealing the show against both Scotland and Fabinho’s Brazil.

No one at Anfield will want to get too carried away by performances at a major tournament, but it’s hard not to be impressed by Bouaddi’s elegant, graceful showings, already looking born for this level despite his relative youth.

Against Fabinho and co, for instance, he won nine duels, boasted a 91% pass accuracy rate and successfully completed three attempted dribbles, having not been dribbled past all game.

For comparison, his direct midfield opponents, Casemiro and Bruno Guimaraes, were dribbled past five times between them, having been no match for Morocco and Bouaddi’s dynamism and mobility.

He is arguably the breakout player of the World Cup so far, although his talent has long been on full display back in Ligue 1, with analyst and Como scout Ben Mattinson highlighting his potential as far back as January 2024, hailing Bouaddi as a “seriously talented all-rounder“.

Last season, for instance, his ball-winning brilliance in front of the back four was on full display, notably winning three ground duels on average per game, just below Fabinho’s rate of 3.2 during the triumphant 2019/20 campaign.

He could well fill the Brazilian’s void in that number six berth, with Gravenberch, Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai all seemingly better suited in a more advanced, number eight role.

There hope will be that Bouaddi can actually eclipse that trio too in terms of his potential, with his early career progress suggesting he can.

Indeed, in Szoboszlai’s case, he didn’t leave Austrian football until the age of 20, while Mac Allister was also 20 when he first enjoyed a taste of Europe’s top five leagues at Brighton and Hove Albion.

As for Gravenberch, he did become the youngest player to debut for Ajax in the Eredivisie at the age of just 16 and 136 days, although for Bouaddi, his own senior debut at Lille came at the age of just 16 and three days.

That speaks to just what a gem the French outfit have on their hands, with the race now on to see if Liverpool can win the battle for Fabinho’s successor in waiting.