Liverpool's Midfield Dilemma: The Pursuit of Eduardo Camavinga

Liverpool’s new era has a clear, unforgiving target: get the Premier League title back.

This is not a club built to loiter on the fringes of a title race. When Liverpool fall short, alarms ring. Last season they did more than fall short – they drifted. Arne Slot’s sweeping changes disrupted the core of a team that had grown used to winning, and the champions never came close to looking like champions.

Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo, once central to Liverpool’s cutting edge, were left stranded by a system that didn’t suit them. Their output collapsed. Both endured some of their leanest campaigns in a red shirt, and the attack suffered badly for it.

Now Salah has gone. Slot is out, Andoni Iraola is in, and Anfield is braced for something different again. This is the moment where a new Liverpool either takes shape or loses its way.

The squad needs help. Serious help.

A title ambition with a midfield problem

Liverpool’s midfield is the obvious fault line.

On paper, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch form a modern, technically gifted trio. On the pitch, only Szoboszlai consistently hit the level demanded of a title-chasing side in 2025-26. The others flickered rather than burned.

That inconsistency explains why almost every credible link around Liverpool this summer seems to involve a midfielder. One name refuses to go away: Eduardo Camavinga.

At Real Madrid, the 23-year-old has become the embodiment of flexibility. He has played as a holding midfielder, as an 8, shuttling wide, even covering at left-back. He presses, he bites into tackles, he carries the ball through lines. Yet he does all of this in a squad already anchored by Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde.

Madrid’s midfield base is strong. Strong enough that Camavinga, for all his talent, is not starting as often as a player of his profile should. That imbalance has sparked rumour after rumour.

Now an unlikely chain reaction is being floated: for Liverpool to get Camavinga, Manchester City may have to help light the fuse.

The Rodri domino

The latest update comes from Ekrem Konur, who has outlined the conditions that could prise Camavinga away from the Bernabeu.

Chelsea, he reports, have made approaches for the Frenchman. Camavinga has rejected them. He does not want to leave Real Madrid.

The equation only changes if Madrid sign Rodri from Manchester City. If that happens, the picture shifts. Konur reports that a Camavinga departure “could become possible” in that scenario, with the club considering him among the players who might be sold.

So Liverpool’s ideal midfield signing may depend on their most relentless domestic rival cashing in on the best holding midfielder in the world.

It is a long shot. It is also the kind of transfer chain that defines eras.

Why Camavinga fits Liverpool’s needs

For Liverpool, the attraction is obvious.

Gravenberch may yet grow into one of the Premier League’s standout defensive midfielders – his 2024-25 campaign suggested he has the tools – but last season he fell well short of that standard. His form reopened old arguments about squad planning and decision-making.

Supporters still question why Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes sanctioned Tyler Morton’s exit, only to watch the academy product quickly become a key figure at Lyon. Behind that, names like Stefan Bajcetic and James McConnell linger as options, but not yet as guarantees.

A club with Liverpool’s ambitions cannot build a title challenge on “maybe”. They need two high-level options for every key role, particularly at the base of midfield, where injuries and suspensions can derail an entire campaign.

Camavinga answers almost every requirement. He can anchor a midfield. He can play as the energetic 8. He can shuffle into wide areas or cover full-back zones in a press-heavy system. His engine suits Iraola’s aggressive, front-foot style. His age – just 23 – offers both immediate impact and long-term value.

He is not just versatile; he is elite in multiple roles. That is rare.

For Liverpool, this is the profile they have been circling for years without quite landing it. For Real Madrid, he is a luxury they may only consider selling if another luxury, Rodri, walks through the door.

So the question hangs over the summer: will Manchester City open that door and trigger a move that could reshape Liverpool’s midfield – and with it, the balance of power at the top of English football?