Ranking every midfielder Liverpool have signed since Xabi Alonso left

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.

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’

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