Steven Gerrard reveals the biggest problem in Liverpool’s current squad

Steven Gerrard reveals the biggest problem in Liverpool’s current squad Liverpool Midfield Still Lacks a True Number 6 Liverpool have spent heavily, changed coaches and altered the shape of the side, but one issue remains obvious. There is still no specialist holding midfielder anchoring the team. That is the point Steven Gerrard has made, and it is difficult to dismiss. Since May 2025, Liverpool have committed more than £625m on signings. Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Bradley Barcola all arrived for fees above £100m. None of them solve the same problem. None of them are a natural number 6. Andoni Iraola has inherited a squad with quality, depth and attacking threat. What he has not inherited is a genuine midfield destroyer, the sort of player who reads danger early, blocks passing lanes and gives everyone else more freedom. That absence matters. Steven Gerrard identifies Liverpool midfield problem Gerrard put it plainly when speaking on The Overlap Daily: “I still think, moving forward – and Iraola might disagree and some Liverpool fans might disagree – Liverpool miss a real strong powerhouse in the middle of the team. Someone who holds the middle of the team and stops people playing through them and puts a lot of fires out, like a Fabinho, for example. A Didi Hamann. “I played with that type, who worry about the other side of the game. When everyone’s thinking attack, or let’s go and create and be obsessed with scoring, you have a clever one in the team, like a Rodri, who goes: ‘No, no. If this goes wrong or the ball turns over, we need to fix a different problem. I think Liverpool lack that. Mac Allister’s good, but I don’t think he’s top at that.” That sums it up. Alexis Mac Allister is intelligent and technically excellent. Ryan Gravenberch can carry the ball and break lines. They are useful midfielders. They are not screeners in the Fabinho mould, and Liverpool still look vulnerable when opponents run through the centre. Defensive midfielder remains obvious transfer gap The old Mac Allister and Gravenberch double pivot helped drive the Premier League title win in 2024-25. Last season it looked far less secure, and Iraola has already moved away from relying on it in the same way. Results explain why. Liverpool have conceded 16 goals in their first 12 matches this term, which tells its own story. There was already demand in the summer for a proper defensive midfielder, particularly after Curtis Jones was sold to Inter Milan. Liverpool chose not to act. The logic may have been that the squad had enough internal solutions. So far, that looks optimistic. Recent matches have underlined the problem. Villarreal and Brighton both found it too easy at times to play through Liverpool’s midfield. The back line survived against Brighton and preserved a clean sheet, but depending on defenders to bail you out every week is not a plan. Trey Nyoni and Lamine Camara offer different answers There are two routes from here. One is internal. Trey Nyoni has shown enough to suggest he could develop into a long-term option. His display off the bench against Brighton was encouraging, and Iraola clearly trusts him more with every passing week. The other route is the market. If Liverpool want a more developed solution, Lamine Camara continues to make sense. The Monaco midfielder has been linked repeatedly and his ball-winning numbers remain strong. He looks like the sort of player who could add control quickly. Liverpool have already spent vast sums. That does not mean the squad is complete. The missing piece may still be the simplest one, a proper defensive midfielder, a real number 6, and a midfielder with the power and discipline Gerrard says the team lacks.