Plotting Emre Can's Route Back into the Liverpool Starting Lineup

Having arrived on Merseyside last October, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was forced to pick up the pieces without a pre-season with his new squad—and hampered by a congested schedule that saw them play more games (63) than any other Premier League side, their results proved inconsistent over the stretch of the campaign.

But despite the inconvenience of the summer's UEFA European Championship in France, Klopp and his backroom staff successfully navigated a potentially hectic pre-season ahead of the 2016/17 campaign, incorporating their international stars sensibly.

With the likes of Jordan Henderson, Nathaniel Clyne, Daniel Sturridge, Adam Lallana and Divock Origi joining up with their team-mates days late at Liverpool's training camp in Palo Alto, California, Klopp nurtured potential fatigue by slowly reintegrating them.

Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

But while Clyne, Henderson and Lallana all started as the Reds kicked off their season with a 4-3 victory away to Arsenal in the season and have preserved their place in Klopp's starting lineup since, both Origi and Emre Can were restricted to substitute appearances—both introduced in the final 20 minutes.

Origi and Can have made just three starts between them so far this season, and most troubling is the slow start of Can—who is yet to complete 90 minutes of football, restricted by waning fitness and heavy competition in midfield.

This presents a major challenge for the 22-year-old, who was second only to Clyne (4,661) in terms of minutes played by an outfield player for Liverpool in 2015/16 (4,215), as he now faces a fight to regain his starting role in Klopp's midfield. 

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After a moderate first season with the Reds that saw him largely utilised as an auxiliary centre-back in Brendan Rodgers' initially productive yet ultimately limited 3-4-2-1 formation, Can was lifted by the appointment of Klopp towards the end of 2015.

Can spoke to the Liverpool Echo's Kristian Walsh after Klopp oversaw his first clash as Liverpool manager—a 0-0 draw away to Tottenham Hotspur last October—saying:

"

He’s completely different from other coaches. He is more emotional and he’ll put his arm round you.

That’s the way he is and I don’t think anything will change regardless of whether he’s in Germany or here in England. I think all coaches have their own way of doing things.

I definitely enjoy working with a coach like that. He likes to come onto the pitch in training and show you how you can do something better.

He is always keen to help and I find that very positive. I like the way he works and it suits me down to the ground.

"

Most notably, Klopp's approach saw Can reinstated in his natural role in the centre of midfield, and the former Bayer Leverkusen star improved significantly as a result, producing a series of excellent performances.

He was most impressive in Liverpool's run to the UEFA Europa League final, dominating the middle of the park against Manchester United in the last 16, Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals and Villarreal in the semi-finals.

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His display against the latter, returning from a serious ankle injury to produce what This is Anfield's Henry Jackson recently highlighted as the finest individual display of Klopp's first year as Liverpool manager, showcased the quality at Can's disposal and the potential he has to develop even further.

No player made more tackles (four) or interceptions (four) than Can, who presided over the midfield battle with a composure and maturity beyond his years, while he also completed more dribbles (three) than any other Liverpool player, as recorded by WhoScored.com, highlighting his ability to burst through the ranks and into the final third.

Furthermore, no player completed more passes than the German (69), while only three players to start the game—James Milner, Philippe Coutinho and Kolo Toure—averaged a higher passing accuracy (85.5 percent), while his remarkable tally of 13 successful long passes was integral to Liverpool's successful attacking play.

It was a performance that saw Can emerge as a colossal midfield presence, encapsulating the periods of brilliance seen throughout the campaign, but this has so far proved the last supporters have seen of the No. 23's supremacy. 

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Between the subsequent final defeat to Sevilla and the current international break, Can has made just eight appearances for Liverpool—with three coming in pre-season and a further five on the competitive front in the Premier League and the EFL Cup—totalling just 280 minutes on the pitch:

• Liverpool 1-2 AS Roma, Friendly: 45 minutes
• Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona, International Champions Cup: 45 minutes
• Mainz 05 4-0 Liverpool, Friendly: 45 minutes
• Arsenal 3-4 Liverpool, Premier League: 20 minutes
• Burton Albion 0-5 Liverpool, EFL Cup: 71 minutes
• Derby County 0-3 Liverpool, EFL Cup: 33 minutes
• Liverpool 5-1 Hull City, Premier League: 16 minutes
• Swansea City 1-2 Liverpool, Premier League: 5 minutes
  

He has started just once in his five outings in the league and has averaged just 35 minutes per game, missing three fixtures—and a further three with Germany—with an ankle injury that has sparked fears among the Liverpool medical staff.

Meanwhile, Klopp has seen three of Can's competitors shine in his new-look midfield three, with Lallana, Henderson and summer signing Georginio Wijnaldum striking a fine balance in the middle of the park.

This has largely seen Henderson operate as Klopp's No. 6, in the deep-lying role, while Lallana and Wijnaldum interchange as box-to-box midfielders, with the latter telling the club's official website in September that "if Lallana goes forward and Henderson also goes, I have to stay"—it is a successful, fluid system.

Henderson, Lallana and Wijnaldum have started alongside each other in each of Liverpool's seven league games so far, with the Reds taking 16 points from a possible 21, losing just once away to Burnley in August.

Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

Behind on fitness and unable to find form through a lack of game time, Can finds himself on the outside looking in—so how can he work his way back into Klopp's starting lineup?

While few can argue the merits of an international break from a club perspective—particularly for Liverpool, with the current interval stalling an excellent run of results—for Can, it may have provided him with an opportunity to impress.

Can told the club's official website in early October:

"

I have to work hard. I have to get fitness back. If I get game time—which is always different to training—I have to work hard on my game and get confidence again.

That’s very important for me. I haven’t played so many minutes this season but of course my target is to play a lot of minutes again.

It is always better to play and be on the pitch. For me, it has been a little bit unlucky so far this season because I came back a little bit late and had a very short break after the Euros.

Then I came back and got an injury. The team did very well and then I came back and it was not easy to get back into the team.

Now I have to continue the work, I have to work hard. And I am confident enough that if I am ready and fit, I will play one day.

"

Missing out on the Germany squad for the October break, Can has remained with Klopp at Melwood, alongside the likes of Loris Karius, Joel Matip, Milner, Lucas Leiva, Alberto Moreno, Kevin Stewart and Danny Ings, affording him further training time while some of the 49-year-old's key stars are away.

Henderson and Wijnaldum are on duty with England and the Netherlands, respectively, while Lallana is still on Merseyside but restricted to the treatment room rather than the pitch due to a groin injury.

As his balance of disciplined defensive quality, deep-lying creativity and destructive box-to-box movement against Villarreal proved, Can is able to fill any of the roles in Klopp's midfield three, and with Liverpool set to take on Manchester United at Anfield on October 17, this could be the case, given Can's current advantage.

The German scored in a behind-closed-doors victory over Bradford City on Sunday afternoon, as revealed by the Express' Paul Joyce, and this will no doubt have served as a reminder of his ability:

Perhaps most important is that Can was able to get 90 minutes under his belt, albeit in a less-intensive fixture than against the Red Devils in the Premier League—and with the Liverpool Echo's Ian Doyle revealing that Lallana remains a doubt for that clash, the Reds' forgotten midfielder is poised to exploit this.

"We have a lot of training sessions before the Manchester United game, and we can do a lot of stuff," Can said of the October break.

In the absence of Henderson, Wijnaldum and Lallana, this should see him cement his place in the starting lineup against manager Jose Mourinho's United side at Anfield—and from there, Can has the opportunity to reclaim his starring role.

Jack Lusby will be covering Liverpool throughout 2016/17 as one of Bleacher Report's lead correspondents. Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted; statistics via Transfermarkt.co.uk.

Follow Jack on Twitter @jacklusby_ and Facebook here.