Xabi Alonso was a truly sensational midfielder for Liverpool – so replacing him was always going to be difficult.
The Spaniard joined Real Madrid in 2009 after 210 appearances for Liverpool and the Reds struggled to fill that void for several years.
Here are the 17 central midfielders Liverpool have signed since Alonso’s departure, ranked by how well they fared at Anfield. It should be noted that we’ve not included attacking midfielders like Philippe Coutinho.
17. Alberto Aquilani
Aquilani was brought in to try and fill the hole left by the departed Alonso in 2009, but he was never able to fill the Spaniard’s boots as Liverpool went from title challengers to seventh place.
The midfielder was hampered by injuries and made just 28 appearances for the club, eventually departing in 2012 after loan spells with both Juventus and AC Milan.
“It was hard,” Aquilaini told Italian reporter Gianluca Di Marzio in 2019.
“I had to go to England, to a cold place, a huge change, but I played with incredible players. Torres, Mascherano, Kuyt, and Gerrard: one of the greatest I have ever played with. The fact that he was there influenced a lot, I’m not hiding it, he’s a champion.”
READ: 17 of the best quotes on Xabi Alonso: ‘It was clear he was royalty’
16. Kevin Stewart
Liverpool picked up Stewart after his release from Tottenham in 2014 and the midfielder went on to make 20 appearances for the club before joining Hull City three years later.
“It was a difficult decision to leave Liverpool. It’s a club that I love and have loved for a long time,” Stewart said in 2017.
“I’ve supported Liverpool since I was a young boy and it was my life goal to be a regular there. But at the same time I felt this was a move that I needed to make in order to further my career.”
Sure enough, he since established himself as a regular for Hull, making 78 appearances for the Tigers before moving on to Blackpool last summer.
15. Christian Poulsen
Poulsen arrived at Liverpool from Juventus in 2010 as a replacement for the departing Javier Mascherano but failed to win over the Anfield support.
Perhaps the best summary of his time at Anfield came from Roy Hodgson, the man who signed him and who was trying to defend him from fans’ criticism: “He’s not that bad on the ball, but let’s not beat about the bush and try to disguise the fact – he’s had a bad start.”
Damned by faint praise.
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