Andoni Iraola's first match as Liverpool head coach ended in a 2-2 draw against Newcastle United at St James' Park — and it exposed a structural problem that has haunted the club for well over a year.

The result was salvaged, but what it revealed was far from new. Liverpool's midfield remains dangerously unbalanced, the team is too exposed on the counter-attack, and the £116 million signing of Florian Wirtz is yet to convince in his central role.

A midfield without a controller

The absence of a dedicated defensive midfielder has been the defining issue at Anfield since Fabinho left in 2023. That summer, Liverpool pursued Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia without success before eventually bringing in Wataru Endo in a late, unexpected move.

As former manager Jurgen Klopp once told Endo on his first day at the club's training ground: "We need you — your heart, your legs, your football ability, your football brain, your desire. We need it." Three years later, the need remains.

Former Liverpool player Daniel Sturridge put it plainly after the Newcastle draw: "We've been talking about a defensive midfielder at Liverpool for the last three years." He also noted that the current midfield three — Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Wirtz — are all naturally offensive players, none of whom carries the defensive instincts of a Fabinho or a Rodri.

Those two names matter. Pepijn Lijnders, once Klopp's assistant at Liverpool, described Fabinho as "the lighthouse" for his capacity to organise play and defend proactively. Meanwhile, the whole of English football has witnessed how Rodri has been the spine of Manchester City's dominance — making it entirely reasonable that Liverpool supporters would crave a similar presence.

The Wirtz dilemma

Compounding the issue is the role assigned to Wirtz. Iraola confirmed he wants the Germany international playing as a No. 10, continuing the approach Arne Slot had established. Yet Wirtz's best football — for both Bayer Leverkusen and Germany — has come from the left of an attacking three, cutting inside with freedom. Played centrally at Newcastle, he was substituted after an hour and looked far from settled.

The positional switch from a '1-2' midfield to a '2-1' structure — two midfielders alongside each other rather than a holding player ahead of the defence — has also altered Ryan Gravenberch's role considerably. His finest run of form came when he operated as a more disciplined No. 6 in Slot's first season. Under the new setup, that anchor is gone.

A solution Iraola must find quickly

Alexis Mac Allister may be Liverpool's closest option to a midfield controller. His half-hour cameo against Newcastle saw him operate in a noticeably more defensive manner than Gravenberch, and he has performed a similar role for Argentina. But it is not his natural game, and using him there is a compromise.

Among the names linked to Liverpool, Mamadou Sangare impressed on his Brentford debut against Tottenham Hotspur and had reportedly been monitored by the club — but no move came. Martin Zubimendi, Rodri's deputy for Spain and now at Arsenal under Mikel Arteta, was another target that came to nothing. Adam Wharton, tracked since his days at Blackburn, remains a name associated with a future Anfield move.

For now, sources suggest that key figures within Liverpool do not believe the holding midfielder position requires urgent investment this window — a view that few outside observers would share. Iraola himself acknowledged after the Newcastle match that adjustments are needed across the squad, not just in personnel: "We have to adapt as a team to these situations," he said.

Bringing in new wide players may sharpen Liverpool's attacking threat, but it will do nothing to address the structural imbalance at the heart of their midfield. Until that gap is filled — whether by recruitment or tactical reinvention — Liverpool's defensive vulnerabilities will remain on full display.