Ranking Every Liverpool Transfer Under Jürgen Klopp

A seventh place may feel harsh for Fabinho, but it's only due to the quality of the players yet to come. Fans do owe him a big thanks for finally solving the defensive midfielder situation that had been going on since the departure of Javier Mascherano. The Argentinean moved to Barcelona in 2010, and in the eight years since, Liverpool's only decent defensive midfielder has been Lucas Leiva. Can, Lallana, Henderson, Wijnaldum or Milner, Shelvey or Charlie Adam, and most obviously Gerrard: every Liverpool midfielder in the last couple of years was better at attacking than defending.

News that the Reds had signed Fabinho on a long-term deal was met by fans with surprise and delight, but probably more of the later (even more so considering that there was strong speculation of a move to Manchester United). After undergoing Klopp's usual treatment of sitting out games until deemed trained enough, he went for that n°6 role and put it in his pocket, along with a whole bunch of Premier League forwards.

How pleasing must it be for Liverpool fans, and for Klopp, to finally have that player who can break up the opposition's play, intercept key passes, commit smart fouls and build counter-attacks from the back. Fab is now a guaranteed starter and at only 25, shows a very promising learning curve. The Premier League title is within Liverpool's reach, and he will be a central piece of that journey for the seasons to come.