Liverpool's Midfield Solution: Sign Eduardo Camavinga
Liverpool’s midfield problem has a clear answer. He’s in Madrid.
Liverpool walked into this season gambling on a hole they already knew existed. They needed a defence-first midfielder last year. They still need one now. The summer window came and went without the specialist they were crying out for.
Instead, they sold Curtis Jones – their second-most productive midfielder – and didn’t replace him. No stop-gap, no young project, no veteran plug-in. Nothing. It was bold. It’s also blowing up in their face.
The defeat to Newcastle United underlined it in red. Liverpool shipped two goals that started with chaos in the middle of the pitch. Calling it “midfield play” for the first goal flatters it. There was no midfield. Newcastle broke with a 25-yard cushion of green grass and barely a red shirt in sight. That isn’t bad luck. That’s structure, or the lack of it.
So the drumbeat starts again. Sign a midfielder. Not just any midfielder – a specialist who lives for defensive work, who can lock the door so the forwards can go and win games. And if Liverpool are going to push late in the window and go big, one name towers above the rest: Eduardo Camavinga.
Camavinga: the rare fit Liverpool can’t ignore
Liverpool have watched Camavinga for years. Scouts know him. Analysts know him. The recruitment team know exactly what he is. Crucially, Real Madrid are not closed off to selling. The big question is whether Camavinga himself is ready to walk away from the Bernabeu.
That’s where Liverpool have to test their ambition. They should be doing everything they can, right up to the final days of the window, to see if he can be tempted.
The numbers are emphatic. On a per-90 basis, the club’s own model ranks Camavinga as the second-best defensive midfielder across Europe’s top five leagues. Among players in teams that dominate the ball, he stands alone at the top.
So why isn’t he a guaranteed starter at Real Madrid? One reason: Aurelien Tchouameni. When you’re competing with a player widely regarded as the best in the world in that role – or at least firmly in that debate – minutes become a problem. For Liverpool, that’s the opening.
Whenever Camavinga does get into Carlo Ancelotti’s XI, he looks elite. His value spills across the pitch. The key defensive and passing metrics all scream the same thing: this is a world-class midfielder.
Look at the profile. Across Europe’s top five leagues, only four midfielders sit in the top 10 per cent for both successful passes and defensive actions. Camavinga is one of them. The other three? Tchouameni, Moises Caicedo and Manuel Locatelli. That is the company he keeps.
Check the workload too. In a high-possession side, he still shoulders a huge share of the defensive burden. He doesn’t hide, doesn’t cruise, doesn’t wait for others to do the dirty work. He embraces it and still keeps the ball moving at an elite level.
That combination is rare. Camavinga is a player who doesn’t start every week, yet belongs in the very top bracket of midfielders. The only reason he’s even vaguely attainable is that he’s fighting for one position with another player from that same elite tier.
Strip it back and the picture is simple. Liverpool need a defensive midfielder who can protect a dominant, possession-heavy side without killing their rhythm on the ball. Camavinga does exactly that. There is no smarter swing they can take at this point in the market.
If he’s open to the move, Liverpool have to go all-in. Camavinga is the one. The only real question is whether the club are prepared to act like it.
