Playing for 90
Fansided

Early season Liverpool player power rankings

By Chad Dingman

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 29: Jurgen Klopp, Manager of Liverpool celebrates his team's victory following the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Liverpool at Selhurst Park on October 29, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 29: Jurgen Klopp, Manager of Liverpool celebrates his team's victory following the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Liverpool at Selhurst Park on October 29, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 16
Next
DERBY, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 20: Ragnar Klavan of Liverpool celebrates scoring the opening goal during the EFL Cup Third Round match between Derby County and Liverpool at iPro Stadium on September 20, 2016 in Derby, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
DERBY, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 20: Ragnar Klavan of Liverpool celebrates scoring the opening goal during the EFL Cup Third Round match between Derby County and Liverpool at iPro Stadium on September 20, 2016 in Derby, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) /

13. Ragnar Klavan

A bit of a strange start to this man’s Liverpool career. I don’t believe Klopp brought him in to be a long-term starter at center back, but there he was against Arsenal on opening day. The 31-year-old captain of Estonia sits behind Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip on the depth chart after his rough start to the season.

More from Playing for 90

After starting the first two PL matches, Klavan has only started in one since, and has been given game time in EFL Cup matches, which Liverpool is still involved in. He scored his first goal in a Liverpool shirt in the 3-0 win over Derby County in the team’s first EFL Cup tie.

Questions surrounding the other center backs could lead to some more appearances for Klavan as the season goes on, but it looks like he is only being used for depth purposes at the moment. In the case of an injury, Klopp should be worried if he has to rely on Klavan as a long-term option. Then again, Klopp has opted to basically banish arguably Liverpool’s best center back, Mamadou Sakho from the squad, so maybe he is content with his current choices.

Are we even sure that Tiago Ilori is worse than Klavan? I’m not even sure Klavan is bad because he’s only had 271 PL minutes to show us his worth, but it hasn’t been too good. Anyway, I’m just saying, there are some other, younger options that Klopp could turn to in the event of an injury or suspension.

Home/Liverpool FC