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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Sean Bradbury & Ian Doyle & Jake Bayliss

How Liverpool could line up after £49m attacker signed and five players return

The transfer window has 'slammed shut' with Liverpool adding Luis Diaz to their attacking ranks.

Jurgen Klopp will have some tricky selection dilemmas in the final few months of the campaign.

But this is exactly what the boss wants with his side competing on all four fronts.

What does Klopp's 'strong eleven' look like though if everyone is fit?

Here are three ECHO writers - who have selected three different teams...

Improving Curtis Jones makes the cut

Ian Doyle: Luis Diaz the new boy. Thiago Alcantara back from injury. Harvey Elliott at last ready to go again.

Throw in the returning Africa Cup of Nations trio Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita, and suddenly Liverpool have a lot of options at their disposal.

Which, though, represent the best chance of success under Jurgen Klopp?

In truth, most of the team picks itself.

Not least in defence, where Trent Alexander- Arnold, Joel Matip, Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson sit in front of goalkeeper Alisson Becker.

Fabinho must marshal the midfield, and Thiago hasn't been on the losing side for Liverpool since March so he's in.

The last engine room role, though, is a very tricky one. But, going on form this season, Curtis Jones just edges Naby Keita. Jordan Henderson needs the rest right now.

Up front, Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota are first choice, and I'd tempted to stick with Sadio Mane on the left.

Diaz, though, could change all that if he hits the ground running.

My team (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Thiago, Jones; Salah, Jota, Mane.

Jordan Henderson sneaks in for midfield balance

Sean Bradbury: Liverpool are quietly rebuilding as a new generation of talent emerges under Jurgen Klopp.

But that doesn't mean the old guard are done yet.

And while recent recruits are top talents who will only improve, some of them don't make it into my strongest eleven.

Luis Diaz and Ibrahima Konate must bide their time.

Kostas Tsimikas is a fine player but has not shown enough to be first-choice.

That means the defence is made up of Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The Reds have had issues in midfield this season and will need to address them next summer.

But Thiago and Fabinho are surely guaranteed starters for any significant game when fit.

Naby Keita is unlucky to miss out given Jordan Henderson's mixed form, but the captain sneaks in to balance the central trio.

Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones may be knocking on the door as well before too long.

The front three is very tricky.

Roberto Firmino is still a vital cog in the machine.

In a similar sense to Keita, there is a solid argument to include him.

But the free-scoring Diogo Jota is marginally preferred in the middle, with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane completing the line-up.

My team (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson, Thiago; Salah, Jota, Mane.

Harvey Elliott is the way forward in midfield

Jake Bayliss: Liverpool’s defence remains unchanged by the recent transfer window.

Alisson in between the posts, with Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold at full-back.

Despite the healthy competition at centre-back, Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip’s partnership is also probably the best option available for Jurgen Klopp.

Midfield is where places are most up for grabs. While Fabinho is rightfully the universal choice to occupy the more defensive role, the Reds have various players that could fill in the other two berths.

Though it was a small sample size before his injury, I would make a slight gamble and place trust in Harvey Elliott alongside the more experienced Thiago Alcantara to maximise Liverpool’s creativity.

Luis Diaz brings an extra dimension to the club’s attacking options - but it may take time for the Colombian to follow Diogo Jota’s example and usurp one of the Reds’ reliable forwards - so I’m sticking with Jota, Sadio Mane, and Mohamed Salah.

At least for now.

My team (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Thiago, Elliott; Salah, Jota, Mane

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