Back in the day, football was all about duos.
Be it, Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton, Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi or even Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva, a good pairing was key in every area of the pitch.
However, as the 4-4-2 was phased out and the 4-3-3 became football’s dominant formation, trios have replaced duos.
Whether it’s an attacking trio such as Barcelona’s MSN – Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez, Real Madrid’s BBC – Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo or midfield trios such as Xavi, Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta or Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.
Trios that work well are now the core of building a successful side.
Of course, no team in the Premier League knows that better than Liverpool. Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah are one of the best, and most iconic, attacking threesomes we’ve ever seen in England, but while the Reds’ attacking combination has been the centre of attention for many years at Anfield, they could soon have a midfield triangle that is even more iconic.
Indeed, it seems as though Liverpool are quietly thinking about building a young midfield core that could run world football in the same way Xavi, Busquets and Iniesta did for many years at Barcelona.
The first piece of that puzzle is a player already at Liverpool – Harvey Elliott. Elliott is destined to be a star at Anfield and he’s already well on his way to establishing himself as a key player on Merseyside.
The second is long-time Liverpool target Jude Bellingham. The Reds are reportedly readying a mammoth summer bid for Bellingham, and if he joins Elliott in that midfield, the Reds will have two incredible technical and energetic English talents.
The player who could complete this trifecta is Barcelona’s Gavi. Liverpool have apparently offered the midfielder a £100,000-a-week offer to join the Anfield outfit, and the Reds don’t offer that type of money to a 17-year-old unless he’s special.
These three teenagers can be moulded into whatever Jurgen Klopp – or any future Liverpool manager, wants them to be, and with their immense talents, they could run that midfield at Anfield for the next decade.
Of course, a lot has to happen before a trio of Bellingham, Elliott and Gavi are united, but if they do all end up playing together at Anfield and reach their potential, Liverpool could have one of the best midfield trios in the world for years to come.
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