Vitaly Janelt: The Missing Piece for Liverpool’s Midfield
Jurgen Klopp’s surprise Germany pick might just be the answer to Liverpool’s biggest problem.
Ask any Liverpool supporter where this squad still feels light and the reply comes back almost instantly: midfield. Not attackers, not full-backs. The middle of the pitch. That’s where the team still creaks.
Andoni Iraola has tried to stamp his identity on this side. He wants a team that hunts the ball, presses high, and then dictates games once it’s won back. That kind of football lives and dies in midfield. If the engine room doesn’t function, the whole structure wobbles.
Right now, it’s wobbling.
A midfield that doesn’t quite fit
On paper, Liverpool have options. In reality, the pieces don’t quite lock together.
Individually, you can see the logic. Collectively, the balance is off.
Dominik Szoboszlai is built for Iraola’s intensity. He wants to chase, press, harass. He thrives when there’s someone behind him anchoring things, recycling possession, and offering a calm outlet in the build-up.
That “someone” isn’t Ryan Gravenberch. The Dutchman wants to carry the ball, glide past opponents, and drive into space. He doesn’t naturally sit, screen, and connect play from deep.
Alexis Mac Allister is the closest thing to that profile, but even he isn’t a perfect fit as a long-term holding midfielder. He can do it, but it doesn’t always look entirely natural.
The ideal solution might eventually be Trey Nyoni. The youngster has the attributes and the temperament that suggest he could grow into that role. The question is timing. Throw him in too early and you risk stunting his development. Wait too long and the current midfield issues keep dragging on.
So Liverpool need a bridge. A player who can do the job now, without slamming the door shut on Nyoni’s future.
Enter Vitaly Janelt
That’s where Vitaly Janelt comes into the picture.
Jurgen Klopp’s first Germany senior squad as national coach raised a few eyebrows, and Janelt’s inclusion was one of the standout calls. The Brentford midfielder has earned his debut call-up, and it isn’t a token gesture.
The numbers tell you why. In the Premier League this season, Janelt has covered the third-most distance, racking up 58.8 km. He doesn’t just run, he reads the game too, ranking fifth for interceptions with 3.20 per 90 minutes.
This is a player who lives inside high-intensity football. He understands pressing triggers, he fills gaps, he anticipates danger. That’s exactly why Klopp has turned to him for Germany – and exactly why he fits the profile Liverpool are missing.
Drop Janelt into Iraola’s system and the picture changes. Szoboszlai gets the freedom to press higher. Mac Allister can be used where he’s most dangerous. Gravenberch can carry the ball without leaving the back line exposed.
Janelt does the ugly work. He sits, screens, breaks up play, then keeps things moving. Simple, reliable, relentless.
At 28, he’s in his prime but not a long-term block on anyone’s pathway. He would buy Liverpool time. Time for Nyoni to develop, to grow into the demands of the role, to step in when he’s truly ready rather than when the squad is desperate.
That’s the appeal. Not a marquee name. Not a headline-grabbing superstar. Just a Klopp-approved, system-perfect midfielder who ticks the boxes Iraola’s Liverpool are currently missing.
Right now, that might be exactly what the Reds need.
