The change in approach around Liverpool’s No.6 has been the most drastic of all the characteristics that have characterized Jurgen Klopp’s midfield revamp this season.

After patrolling the engine room for five trophy-laden years at Anfield, Fabinho’s summer sale to Saudi Pro League champions Al-Ittihad necessitated a change.

Or, maybe more specifically, Klopp and his backroom staff were compelled to make a tactical modification because to their inability to replace the Brazilian with a player with a similar skill set.

After selling Fabinho, a player whose long-term form had been questioned for some time, for about £40 million, Liverpool’s recruitment staff passed on the opportunity to bring in a like-for-like replacement. Cheick Doucoure of Crystal Palace, Florentino Luis of Benfica, and even Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips were all linked at the time.

In his press conference on Friday, Klopp insisted that his current midfield blend does not require a specialist destroyer to be successful, implying that while Alexis Mac Allister – the current incumbent at No.6 – is not a natural in terms of traditional thinking around the role, the World Cup-winning Argentina international more than makes up for it with his in-game intelligence.

“I understand that from the outside world, it is always about how a player in this position is set up, but in the end, it is all about how the whole team is set up,” Klopp said ahead of Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City. “So, Macca is a natural-born six?” No. Did football evolve in recent years in ways we couldn’t have predicted? Yes.

“Does that mean a player like Macca can play six?” Definitely. It is dependent on how the entire team defends. It’s as simple as that. If we execute that correctly, we will have an outstanding player in a central position who can find passes and is forward-thinking. Do you want a player that just knocks people down and then says, “Not my job, give me a break” when we have possession? Then it’s not that simple.”

Klopp’s apparent view that he doesn’t need a more conventional midfielder has already been revealed by the ill-fated attempt to sign Moises Caicedo from Brighton & Hove Albion. In August, Liverpool offered what would have been a British transfer record of £111 million to land Ecuador international before being told he only wanted to play for Chelsea.

The sheer amount and scale of the bid for Caicedo was a surprise for an ownership group whose general attitude to transfer negotiations has always been more risk adverse, especially given that it was made when the Reds were without the additional money of Champions League participation. That, however, was a key indicator of where Klopp believed his team still needed to be strengthened, regardless of how it is dressed up now.

“I remember the frustration with [the 2017 summer pursuit of] Virgil van Dijk,” Jan Molby, a great former midfielder, tells the ECHO. “Once people realized we had that kind of money to spend, they said, ‘Well, if we can’t get Virgil for that kind of money, surely we can find somebody else?'”

“However, we got Virgil, who was the one we wanted.” I believe Moises Caicedo was the one we wanted, and it wasn’t just last summer that we attempted to sign him; he was someone we tried to sign the summer before, so I’m sure we have someone on our list somewhere who we feel we can bring in and be comfortable paying the money.

“They were comfortable paying the money for Moises Caicedo because of his talent, his age and also because of the way football prices have moved on, so credit to the owners for being prepared to do that but I am sure we have somebody else on the horizon.”

When Chelsea won the Caicedo race, Liverpool made a big pivot, bringing in Wataru Endo for less than a fraction of the sum offered to Brighton. In mid-August, the Japan captain signed for £16 million from Stuttgart. At 30, he was the Reds’ oldest player since Ragnar Klavan in 2016, and while Endo has proven to be a solid and trustworthy operator thus far, many see Mac Allister’s continued selection as the deepest midfielder as an unsuitable answer.

“Obviously, he hasn’t yet been able to show his Brighton form,” Molby continues, “but I think we’re using him because he is what they call now in modern football a press-resistant No.6.” He is good on the ball, but I believe Alexis would feel more at ease if he was placed a little farther forward, where he can really demonstrate what he is capable of, which is playing in tight spaces. So I still believe he has a lot more in him to show.

“It looks like Endo is going to be a squad player and he is going to play in a lot of our Europa League games and a lot of our Carabao Cup games but what I like about it is we didn’t get who we wanted as our [first choice] No.6 so instead of going out and chasing it we’ve decided again to wait and I just hope we are able to do what we normally do and find somebody where the numbers stack up and they come in make a difference.”

Initially, there was a school of thinking within the club that deadline-day signing Ryan Gravenberch could be fashioned into a more holding-style midfielder in the long run. However, nearly four months into his contract, the Netherlands Under-21 international has impressed with his ball-carrying and box-to-box ability, whereas Dominik Szoboszlai was never expected to be a defensive addition following his £60 million move from RB Leipzig.

To be fair to Mac Allister, his performance at Manchester City over the weekend was remarkable, lending credence to Klopp’s general thesis. Only Joel Matip, Virgil van Dijk, and Trent Alexander-Arnold had more touches in midfield for the Reds on the day, while the Argentina international helped keep City at bay with a handful of tackles, interceptions, and three blocks. His pass success rate of 93 was also the highest of all of the match-day starters, which is critical at such a difficult stadium as the Etihad.

Few squads in modern football are capable of lifting the biggest prizes without the presence of an elite defensive midfielder, but while one remains absent from the Liverpool squad, Mac Allister’s brains-over-brawn interpretation of the position has been an important reason behind what could yet turn into a very real Premier League challenge.

“I think it is too early to say,” Molby says. “I think we had about three or four seasons where we knew we could get enough points to win the Premier League, so that is definitely 90-plus points.” But I’m not sure what this bunch of guys is capable of at the present.

“But again you’re starting to look at the ages and we’ve got a relatively young squad in so many positions so I think we’re at the level where we’re waiting for them to show us what they are capable of and when you talk about what a squad is capable of then [getting a good result at] Manchester City away is a big part of that.”