Liverpool's £51m transfer decision justified after Man United midfield loan decision made

Liverpool's summer transfer window saw them linked with a whole host of midfield names as they aimed to spruce up their engine room following a midfield exodus, but there's one name they successfully avoided.

One of the names that was linked with a move in the summer was Fiorentina's Sofyan Amrabat who had garnered a lot of interest across Europe from Manchester United, Liverpool, Barcelona and others due to his club form which saw him help lead his side to a European final but also in the World Cup where he starred for Morocco.

His stock was at an all-time high and he had the choice of plenty of clubs, according to reports, as the market for a defensive midfielder became more and more competitive. Liverpool did not continue in their pursuit as they signed Alexis Mac Allister and Wataru Endo to feature in the deep midfield role, while Man United struck a deal with Amrabat to sign him on a season-long loan with an option to buy.

However, his time at United has failed to inspire, with reports from Sky Sports News today revealing that United and Erik Ten Hag do not want to exercise their option which would have cost £21.4m, however they have already spent £8.5m on his loan deal.

In fairness, he has had to fill in out of position across for a sizeable period of time at left-back due to injuries to Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw and he has come into a side which has struggled for any sort of rhythm this season. But comparing him to both Endo and Mac Allister is futile as the Liverpool duo have settled in strongly, adapted well to their new teammates and had a positive impact.

It was rather telling that in his 49 minute appearance against Liverpool at Anfield recently that he only managed to win one of his eight ground duels, he lost possession 16 times and was dribbled past one two occasions. Whereas Endo played a full 90, won eight of his 13 duels, made four tackles, wasn't dribbled past and only lost possession nine times across that time.

Mac Allister and Endo seem to be successful options in that deep-lying midfield role and only time will tell whether they have found their successors to Fabinho. Although it is clear Jurgen Klopp has taken a different approach to the player in the deepest role with his 'Liverpool 2.0'. But one thing is for sure, Liverpool were right to avoid the Moroccan international in favour of Premier League quality and experience which is currently paying dividends at the top of the table.