Rúben Amorim doesn't just play 3-4-3 and Luis Díaz and four more Liverpool stars could benefit

Liverpool needs a replacement for Jürgen Klopp and Rúben Amorim is among those on the shortlist. While the Reds insist that nothing has been decided yet — and Amorim himself was quick to confirm on Thursday that he has not got any agreement in place — the 39-year-old is certainly a highly-rated option.

Given that Xabi Alonso has been ruled out for now and there are no other glaring candidates for Liverpool to turn to, it is only natural that Amorim has been spoken about a lot by Reds fans this week. And among the conversations has been one reservation: the fact that he tends to play a back three.

Chelsea won the Premier League title playing a 3-4-3 system not that long ago and it can clearly work. Formations are not all that strict either: they are only really a starting point for considerably more fluid movements and interchanges as matches take place. But Liverpool's squad doesn't appear that well set up to play with three center-backs, so it is a legitimate question to ask.

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According to one Portuguese soccer expert, however, Amorim is not tied to playing 3-4-3. While he might have been in the past, Liverpool will no doubt have observed an evolving Sporting CP side under his watch.

"Tactically, [people think] Amorim always played with a 3-4-3 but this year, he evolved more in terms of complexity and diversity of idea," Portuguese journalist Tomás da Cunha told The Anfield Wrap. "This is clearly the best team that he has in Sporting and he will win the title and possibly also the Portuguese Cup. It is a good time for Amorim to go to Liverpool in terms of personal development.

"To explain the first title of Sporting [that Amorim won], I can explain that team as [being] a low block team with direct attacks and good set-pieces, with many goals from set-pieces. That Sporting team was not a good team in terms of playing level and the quality of the team.

"But this Sporting team is different. It is a more high-pressure team that wants to keep the ball more than in other years. It is a 3-4-3 formation with wide center-backs who are very good on the ball: Gonçalo Inácio left-footed and Ousmane Diomande right-footed. And Amorim this year has used more his whole squad."

That will certainly be appealing to Liverpool. And there is another formation that Amorim might be more likely to use with the Reds if he does take over in the summer.

"The flexibility he is showing this year is a great showing of developing," Da Cunha continued. "In the first years, he never leaves the 3-4-3 formation. This year, he has more flexibility. For example, under high pressure, a 4-4-2 formation — it is possible to see that at Anfield. Because to be a more high-pressure team and a more dynamic team, sometimes the 3-4-3 causes problems.

"Another important point is the transfer market. Amorim has always shown good choices in the transfer market with a specific profile of players. This year, Morten Hjulmand and Viktor Gyökeres and other years Manuel Ugarte and João Palhinha."

Liverpool.com says: In a 4-4-2, there are some players who would immediately stand out as being better suited to that system than one with a back three. Luis Díaz played on the left of a four at FC Porto and Harvey Elliott and Dominik Szoboszlai could easily slot into the right-hand side version. Diogo Jota and Darwin Núñez both suit being part of a front two.

If Amorim does end up at Anfield, that would seem a lot more suited to the squad of players that the Reds have than changing to a 3-4-3, where at least a couple of center-backs would need to be signed. There is no left-footed option for that role at all at the moment and in that system, it would be hard to squeeze in both Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah, for instance, or both Díaz and Jota.

A 4-4-2 would certainly be an exciting development and we have seen Liverpool play that at times (albeit usually as a break-glass option) under Klopp. Whatever happens and whoever comes in, it will be fascinating to see how things unfold.