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The potential departure of Lucas Leiva has divided opinion; little surprise given that is how he has spent his eight years at Anfield, constantly straddling the line of criminally underrated and completely unnecessary.

But a move from Merseyside would be seismic for one particular section of supporters, a vociferous group who have become more frantic as the summer has progressed.

Signing Christian Benteke for £32.5m will bring goals, while Nathaniel Clyne is an astute buy. James Milner could become a real bargain; Roberto Firmino is exciting; Danny Ings can be a top option from the bench.

But where, they ask, fingers pulsing and heartbeat racing, is the midfielder the Reds need? Even before a possible sale of the Brazilian was mooted, some felt the squad was light on that sort of player – one who sits deep, breaks up play and dictates tempo on the ball.

To give it the uniform term: the defensive midfielder. To give it the Twitter term: the ‘DM’. The clamour, from some, has been unavoidable.

What is a 'DM' anyway?

Even in our pre-season survey, when we asked fans which one player they wanted to see at Anfield, the term ‘defensive midfielder’ was just beaten to top spot by Marco Reus, Alexandre Lacazette and Lucas Digne. It was the only position where no names, and just the general concept, was enough.

It’s a wide-ranging term, of course. Some want a ‘DM’ to act as the destroyer, the archetypal hard man who gets his knees dirty; others want the ‘DM’ to be an all-action midfielder, athletic and strong, who will run for 90 minutes.

In theory, it makes sense. Lucas offers something few others – if any – do in the current squad; an inclination to defend rather than attack, and a specialist in giving shape to the midfield.

Indeed, a soft centre has long been a criticism since Brendan Rodgers took charge at Anfield, a far cry from the axis of Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano from the late 2000s, a duo to highlight the importance of holding midfielders.

Alonso had the distribution, Mascherano the determination; together, a title challenge formed upon that foundation.

Has Rodgers ever used a DM?

That sort of set-up has long departed, for better or worse. Even in the 2013-14 season, so glorious on the front foot, it was felt the Reds would have benefited with another body alongside Steven Gerrard to stop some of the 49 goals flying past Simon Mignolet.

But then, sacrificing a player such as Philippe Coutinho or Raheem Sterling would have taken from the attacking force which plundered, curled and fired in 101 goals over the course of 38 games.

The compromise was made with the diamond formation, but that saw Lucas and Allen further ahead of Gerrard, rather than in a traditional holding role.

This, perhaps, is the crux of the issue.

Liverpool’s best-ever spell under Rodgers came with an unorthodox defensive midfielder, Gerrard, sitting and spraying passes. The much-used, much-maligned term of ‘quarterback’ was associated with the role; Gerrard was not there to simply protect the defence, but to be a further attacking asset in a deeper position.

Rodgers has also used Joe Allen – small, slight, the antithesis of a defensive midfielder – as the deepest role, with James Milner, Jordan Henderson and Emre Can also utilised there in recent weeks.

All of those have energy, all of those can press high and move across the pitch – but all can have a telling impact in the final third, with the dynamism to get forward and operate higher up the pitch.

Lucas, the most typical defensive midfielder in the squad, does not.

Does a DM fit the system?

A lot of Rodgers’ successful spells at Liverpool, in terms of performances on the pitch, have come when all players are comfortable on the ball. That, after all, was part of Rodgers’ reputation when he arrived from Swansea in 2012.

Add that to the fact this is the seventh transfer window the Reds boss has not bought a replacement or competition for Lucas, and it seems this sort of player is not in the Rodgers mould.

It would be unfair to both Lucas and other defensive midfielders to write off their footballing ability and present them as nothing more than bodies to get in the way. That is not true. Rodgers, after all, has handed Lucas 60 league starts in three seasons.

The Brazilian is accurate with the ball at his feet, can produce intelligent passes and reads the game well. He would be an asset to most squads.

But perhaps not in Rodgers’ any more. Not him, nor the traditional defensive midfielder.

Liverpool started with Henderson deepest in midfield at Stoke; Can would soon move into that role.

The German, in particular, caught the eye. As the game entered stoppage time, nails bitten to the bone, he careered back towards his own goal, slid in on Marco van Ginkel, and executed a perfectly-timed sliding challenge.

Once back on his feet, he raced up the field to offer himself for a pass higher up once more.

Replacements

That élan is something Can must still master, but he is still just 21. He, like Henderson and even Allen, are not limited to the back foot, but can also operate on the front foot.

Defenders of Lucas – and the DM role in general – would point to how well the Reds performed with the 28-year-old in the side last season; they won 63.6% of league games with him in the side, just 27.7% without.

However, the season before, the figures were much different – 55% of games won with him as a starter, 83.3% without. His presence over the past two seasons has also averaged around a goal fewer on average per game; while the amount of goals conceded have decreased, it is not quite as drastic as a goal a game.

That is not to disparage the loyal midfielder, but rather highlight why that sort of player is not needed when a Rodgers side is at their best. Not one who is affordable, anyway.

After starting him in the opening game of the first three campaigns, he was nowhere to be seen at the Britannia – a change of direction confirmed.

Lucas’ Anfield future is uncertain, but one thing is for sure: if the evolution of Rodgers’ midfield continues, he may be the last of his kind in a Liverpool starting 11 for a while.