This week, The Athletic focuses on what promises to be another frenzied summer transfer window for Liverpool. After examining potential attacking targets on Tuesday, we now turn to the midfielders the outgoing Premier League champions may be tracking.
What’s needed?
It’s been nearly six years since Liverpool signed a first-choice holding midfielder, and that area now demands urgent attention. This season, coach Arne Slot’s side has become vulnerable, easily bypassed and often outrun. The loss of midfield control stems from multiple factors: Alexis Mac Allister’s dip in form, injuries forcing players out of position, and last summer’s departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid, who was crucial in build-up play.
Other variables include the arrival of summer 2025 signing Florian Wirtz and how his inclusion has shifted the team’s balance, as well as opponents learning to neutralize Ryan Gravenberch after his standout 2024-25 title-winning campaign. While concerns grow that the issue may be more about playing style than personnel, a new addition would undoubtedly help.
With Curtis Jones entering the final year of his contract and facing an uncertain future, Mac Allister out of form, Wataru Endo injured and nearing the last season of his deal, and Trey Nyoni expected to go out on loan, the need for greater competition is clear. A dynamic box-to-box midfielder with exceptional passing and defensive awareness to shield the back line is vital. The safest shortlist would include players with Premier League experience.
Adam Wharton
Current club: Crystal Palace
Age: 22
Wharton shouldn’t be valued solely for his tenacity or ability to cut out runners but for what he brings in build-up. Few players break lines and fire passes forward like he can, adding excitement to a midfield that has declined over the past year. His knack for punching the ball into attacking areas from deep sets him apart. He has completed 23.4% of Palace’s line-breaking passes in the opposition half this season, second only to Sunderland’s Granit Xhaka for incisive balls into dangerous areas. However, his attacking output is low—he hasn’t scored in 92 appearances for Palace since joining from Blackburn in early 2024. He won’t come cheap: with three years left on his contract, Palace (whose trading history with Liverpool is complicated) would demand a huge fee.
Elliot Anderson
Current club: Nottingham Forest
Age: 23
Anderson leads Europe’s top five leagues in defensive recoveries per 90 minutes. His bite complements his ball-playing ability and determination to set the team’s tone. Many of Forest’s positive build-up actions go through him: no player in Europe takes a greater share of their team’s touches (14.3%), and he’s responsible for 21.2% of Forest’s progressive passes (fifth highest share). Like Wharton, he’s exciting but extremely expensive—likely north of £100 million. Liverpool would also face competition from both Manchester clubs, making a move unlikely at this stage.
Alex Scott
Current club: Bournemouth
Age: 22
Liverpool have struggled to progress the ball forward effectively this season, with Mac Allister’s passing declining and Gravenberch not replicating his title-winning ball-carrying. Scott, Bournemouth’s smooth ball-carrier, could help after an impressive season for a team that may finish above Liverpool. Recently earning his first England call-up, he exudes confidence receiving passes in tight spaces and has proven his creativity in the final third.
Boubacar Kamara
Current club: Aston Villa
Age: 26
Kamara offers qualities beneficial if a more defensive-minded option is needed. The Frenchman is a proactive midfielder who loves tackles, is relatively press-resistant, and often dribbles out of tight spots. He ranks seventh for take-ons per 90 among Premier League midfielders and fourth for fouls suffered. Villa badly miss him when absent; in two of the past three seasons, their title challenges have slipped after his injuries. In 2025-26, their win rate drops from 72.2% with him to 23.5% without. However, his injury record is a growing concern—he barely missed games for Marseille before joining Villa in 2022.
Lamine Camara
Current club: Monaco
Age: 22
If Liverpool look further afield, they hope to find a player like Fabinho after his 2018 arrival from Monaco. Camara has starred for Monaco, notably in a 3-1 win over PSG in March, earning rave reviews for his tenacity and relentless running. He’s proactive in tackles and has energy to burn. Only two players in Europe’s top five leagues have more recoveries, and he averages around two interceptions per game, highlighting his ground-eating defensive style. The exciting part is his involvement in build-up with clever, progressive passing and creativity.
Mamadou Sangare
Current club: Lens
Age: 23
Another Ligue 1 option, Sangare stands out for defensive output. Only three under-23 midfielders in Europe attempt more true tackles (a metric combining tackles won, lost, and fouls committed while tackling), and he ranks third for ball recoveries. Though wearing No. 8, he plays more like a No. 6. He also likes to get forward, with runs from midfield—similar to Gravenberch—becoming an exciting part of his game this season. An example: winning the ball, turning defence into attack, and producing an assist.
Angelo Stiller
Current club: Stuttgart
Age: 25
Liverpool considered Stiller after missing out on Martin Zubimendi in summer 2024, and he remains an interesting option. Now two years older and more experienced, some doubts may have eased. Whether he makes Germany’s World Cup squad is uncertain, but he’d likely be a backup. He’s not a natural goalscorer—just 11 in 183 senior games for Stuttgart and Hoffenheim—but he’s durable. Over the past three seasons, he’s been a virtual ever-present for Stuttgart, an attractive quality given Liverpool’s well-documented injury issues.
Ederson
Current club: Atalanta
Age: 26
No midfield transfer list is complete without Ederson, linked with almost every big club recently (likely because his contract expires in 2027, suggesting a move soon). Stylistically, he’s not like Fabinho, but he offers combative defensive qualities alongside strong technical play. He reads the game well and records a high volume of ball recoveries—exactly what Liverpool need from their midfielders next season.
How seriously Fenway Sports Group takes this transfer window will determine how quickly this faltering team gets back on track. Whatever happens, signing at least one new midfielder should be a priority.