Jurgen Klopp led Liverpool to a potentially season-altering victory against Manchester City in the Premier League yesterday.

This comes after a poor start to their league campaign, winning just twice before the 1-0 win over City, with a variety of factors coming into play for the German and his team.

The Anfield side have had to deal with a succession of injuries all season, particularly to the midfield area which has led Klopp to constantly rotate his squad.

What the manager would do for a previous Liverpool midfielder, who starred under Rafa Benitez, at this present moment in time? He would be a better option than Fabinho…

Xabi Alonso would be perfect in 2022

The Spaniard signed for the club in the summer of 2004 under Benitez for a fee of just £10.5m, which in later years would turn into an absolute bargain.

He won the Champions League and FA Cup during his wonderful spell at Anfield between 2004-2009 and shone in a midfield containing Steven Gerrard and Javier Mascherano, narrowly missing out on the Premier League title in 2009.

Alonso left for Real Madrid that summer in a £30m deal, winning another Champions League title alongside a La Liga crown under Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho before joining Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich juggernaut in 2014.

The Spanish manager claimed Alonso was “one of the best midfielders I’ve ever seen in my life” while former German footballer Matthias Sammer dubbed him as “incredible” and he thrived in the Bundesliga.

During the 2014/2015 season, his first in Germany, Alonso took a staggering 163.5 touches per match, controlling the match and dictating play.

To put this into perspective, last season in the Premier League, Fabinho took just 63.7 touches per match, that’s nearly 100 less on average.

The Spaniard would slot perfectly into Klopp’s system, and with the player at his peak, he could circulate the ball at an incredible rate. The midfielder would also contribute well defensively too, and over the course of his career, he averaged 2.9 tackles per match. Once more, that is a better tally than Fabinho, who has made 1.9 a game in 2022/23.

There wouldn’t be many of the Liverpool faithful who would turn down the chance to witness the now 40-year-old starring in a Klopp team, especially when you consider their midfield issues of today.