Liverpool's Midfield Needs Eduardo Camavinga
Liverpool’s midfield gap has been obvious for a while. Now it’s starting to look reckless.
They went into this season needing a defence-first midfielder. They needed one last season, too. The summer window felt like the moment they’d finally pull the trigger.
They didn’t.
Instead, Liverpool moved on Curtis Jones – their second-most productive midfielder – and chose not to replace him. It was a bold call. It’s also blowing up in their face.
The evidence was brutal against Newcastle United. Two goals conceded, both rooted in chaos and softness in the middle of the pitch. Calling it “midfield play” for the first goal flatters it. Liverpool had no screen, no pressure, no structure. Newcastle broke with space to spare, roaming freely within 25 yards of goal.
This is why the drum keeps beating: they need a specialist holding midfielder. Not a converted eight, not a stopgap. A real one. And if they decide to spend big, there’s one name that towers above the rest.
Camavinga: the rare solution hiding in plain sight
Liverpool have watched Camavinga for years. They know the profile. They know the ceiling. And right now, he sits in a strange spot at Real Madrid: too good to be a squad player, too blocked to be an undisputed starter.
Real Madrid are not closed to selling. That part is clear. The real battle lies elsewhere – convincing Camavinga that it’s time to leave the European champions. That’s where Liverpool have to be ruthless and persuasive, right up to the final days of the window.
The numbers back the obsession. On a per-90 basis, one model rates Camavinga as the second-best defensive midfielder across Europe’s top five leagues. Among sides that dominate the ball, he stands alone at the top.
Why isn’t he starting every week at the Bernabéu? Because Aurelien Tchouameni exists. Tchouameni is in the argument for best holding midfielder in the world. Camavinga is competing with him for one role. That’s the only real knock against him – and for Liverpool, that’s the opportunity.
When Camavinga does play, he changes games. His value spreads across the pitch: on the ball, off the ball, in transition, in settled possession. The key metrics all point in the same direction – this is a world-class operator.
Look at the elite bracket. 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 others? Tchouameni, Moises Caicedo and Manuel Locatelli. That’s the company he keeps.
Dig into defensive impact and the picture barely shifts. Camavinga happily shoulders a heavy workload in a high-possession side, doing the dirty work while still offering security and progression on the ball. He doesn’t hide. He hunts.
This is what makes him so rare. He isn’t a regular in every Real Madrid XI, yet he clearly belongs in the top bracket of midfielders in Europe. The only reason he’s even vaguely attainable is the simple, brutal reality of his situation: two elite sixes, one position.
For Liverpool, that should ring alarm bells in the recruitment department. Opportunities like this don’t come around often.
If Camavinga is open to the move, there is no better option. No safer bet in terms of profile, age, and proven output. No cleaner fit for a team crying out for a defensive anchor who can still play in a possession-heavy system.
Liverpool have a choice: patch the problem or solve it properly.
If they’re serious about the latter, Eduardo Camavinga is the one to go all-in for.
