Liverpool’s Henderson and Fabinho plan after deadline day centre-back transfers

If Jordan Henderson and Fabinho had hoped that the transfer deadline day arrival of two central defenders was going to mean that their days at the back were over, then they need to think again.

In the short-term at least.

The Liverpool midfielders have both done a sterling job at the back in the wake of a mounting injury list which now features all three of the club's senior centre-backs, probably until the very end of the season.

Ben Davies and Ozan Kabak have arrived as Jurgen Klopp and Michael Edwards called for the cavalry, but the Reds boss is in no mind to throw either of his new recruits straight in at the deep end.

While Fabinho will miss Wednesday's Premier League clash at home to Brighton, Henderson is very likely to start at the back alongside Nat Phillips, with the pair having played together for the last one-and-a-half matches – about the average lifespan of a Liverpool central defensive partnership this season.

Fabinho is then expected to be fit for Sunday's crunch clash at home to Manchester City, when in all likelihood he will replace Phillips and partner Henderson again.

The two midfielders might be seen as an unlikely combination to face the league leaders, but with City's extra speed on the ground and the fact that the game is likely to be a tactical battle, both will be more suited to the game over the physical but sometimes cumbersome Phillips, who excelled against the aerial approach of West Ham.

Davies could be on the bench for the Brighton game, but Klopp has ruled out throwing in the 25-year-old from the start.

Kabak won't be in the squad to face the Seagulls as he hasn't received international clearance yet.

The hope has to be that one or both of the new recruits gets up to speed quickly, allowing Liverpool's midfielders to return to where they are best – midfield.

But don't be surprised if one of Henderson or Fabinho ends up staying a centre-back for a little longer, and perhaps even the rest of the season.

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