A bold midfield rebuild looks to be paying off for Jurgen Klopp as his Liverpool team sit a point off of the summit of the Premier League, with a game in-hand against bottom-dwellers Sheffield United.

The Reds replaced five players in the middle of the pitch, captain Jordan Henderson, vice-captain James Milner, Fabinho, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain with Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch. 

Many observers considered the campaign to be a transitional season, envisioning a struggle with so many new bodies in the engine room, especially after they missed out on both Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia to Chelsea.

However, it has been far better than anybody could have predicted, the perfect blend of the majority of new additions (except Gravenberch) hitting the ground running and the likes of Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, James McConnell and Bobby Clark stepping up into new roles.

If the Anfield outfit go on to lift the league title, their new midfield will be a huge factor. 

  • A bargain from Brighton

The first addition of the summer transfer window was Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton for £35 million. 

The Argentinian was a key part of the Seagulls team last season, with only Kaoru Mitoma (16), Solly March (16) and Pascal Gross (17) scoring more goals than his 13. 

After being shoehorned into a holding midfield role in the early stages of the season, whilst Endo adapted to the pace and physicality of the English game, he has been unleashed further forward since February when the Japanese captain returned from the Asia Cup, with outstanding results.

The 25-year-old has contributed with four goals (two of which were penalties) and five assists in the ten matches since the change in his role. 

Four of those five assists have been for the match-winning goal, only Mohamed Salah (five) has assisted more winners for the Reds in the league this season.

Jurgen Klopp was full of praise for the World Cup winner ahead of the clash with Sheffield United on Thursday. 

“I had no limits for him, I didn’t want to limit him, I knew it was a player I desperately wanted. 

"Thank God we got him. Everything he learned at Brighton was super useful but then it’s a new environment, slightly different role. 

"How he adapted to that, you never know. Not from a footballing point of view, it’s more like character because there were a lot of discussions: can he play the six and these kind of things. 

"It sounds like it was five years ago but it was only a few months ago people had these kind of discussions and I got asked the question quite frequently. 

"These things always help, if you play a little bit out of your comfort zone it always helps.

"We all know the eight is his best position but he can play the six anyway. I’m absolutely happy. Just a great player. Fantastic footballer, super-important for us.”

  • The hopeful Hungarian 

When Dominik Szoboszlai arrived on Merseyside, he spoke of a desire to win everything available in his first season.

“I like to win, I like to do everything for the team,” he told The Observer.

“If they ask me if I want to win the Premier League, of course I want to win it. If I want to win the Europa League and the FA Cup, the same. Everything we can do this year. I want to win everything because nobody is going to ask you how it feels to be second,” the midfielder added.

The Hungarian played every minute of the Reds’ first ten Premier League matches, before he was replaced in the second-half of the dismal 1-1 draw with Luton Town in November. 

The former RB Leipzig man looked like he had integrated perfectly into Klopp’s team, but from that moment he seemed to struggle with the intensity, with a hamstring injury and a rushed return from that problem hindering his adaptation. 

Having been slowly eased back into the side, and back to full fitness, there was obvious improvement in March, with four goals and one assist in eight games for club and country. 

Sunday’s win over Brighton was only the fifth time that Szoboszlai has started in a trio with Mac Allister and Endo, and like the Argentine, it is likely that he will have more license to get forward with the Japan international behind them. 

The Hungarian was crucial in the build-up to the winning goal last weekend, with a perfectly weighted pass to Mac Allister, who then assisted Salah, and it would not be a surprise if his influence increases in the next few weeks as the title race comes to a climax.

  • The final pieces of the puzzle

Eyebrows were raised when the Reds brought in Stuttgart captain Wataru Endo after missing out on Moises Caicedo.

It was a departure from their usual philosophy in the market, signing a 30-year-old player, but it looks to have been another transfer masterstroke from the Reds.

After a tough start, the veteran admitted to VAVEL that he understood the frustration with his signing, but would fight to prove those who doubted him wrong after the 5-1 demolition of Toulouse in the Europa League in October.

"I understand they say that, I am 30-years-old and Liverpool wanted to sign younger players, that is normal right. 

"I didn't care what they said, I just have to do my job. If I play well then they will say good signing. 

"Today, my performance, not just today, is getting better and better, I can still improve more, so I just keep it going and try to do my job every game."

"It is safe to say that he has done just that, becoming a vital presence at the base of midfield, a crucial figure in their title challenge.

He has a relentless work rate and is not afraid to put his body on the line in an effort to recover possession, but the most important thing he brings is that ability to release Mac Allister and Szoboszlai further forward. 

It would seem that Jurgen Klopp agrees, judging from his comments ahead of the clash with the Blades. 

“What a player, what a guy. 

"The skill set of each of the individuals is crucial to the way we want to play.

"For playing really offensively, your protection needs to be almost perfect.

"Your protection has to be perfectly set up and that gives you the freedom to fly offensively, if you want.

"A naturally defensively minded midfielder is then super helpful.

"Obviously he is doing that extremely well, but in possession, he doing really well too.”

Meanwhile, the jury is still out on Ryan Gravenberch, who was signed on deadline day for a fee of around £34 million from Bayern Munich.

He has only started nine league matches, but could provide vital depth as the season comes to a close, with games coming thick and thin. 

The Dutchman has shown that he can provide, with two goals and an assist in the Europa League, and a league cup assist. 

The Ajax academy graduate is just 21-years-old, and has all the physicals attributes that a manager would want in a midfielder, so it would be foolish to write him off already.