Summer 2021 – player Analysis
ARICLE BY MATTY (Not STU)
From my last article, Liverpool appear significantly closer to their target goal of raising £70
million from players they no longer wish to use. Harry Wilson is gone for the pastures of
Fulham, while Taiwo Awoniyi is gone to Union Berlin. It also looks likely that Shaqiri is next to
follow them out the door while Brighton need only for Arsenal to massively overpay for Ben
White, a fine player but not worth £50 million, before they make a move for Nat Phillips. So now
the focus shifts away from the actual process of selling players and now looks toward what
Liverpool will look for in their signings. While rumors being linked with us usually mean the
player involved in the rumor isn’t coming to Liverpool, we can use who has been linked to us
recently as a means to possibly infer what Liverpool want out of their new players. I remain firm
in my belief that we will invest in a midfielder and forward, it just makes sense and rounds out
the squad very nicely indeed. We get the right players and I think we have as good a shot as
anyone at winning more trophies next season.
Federico Chiesa: A personal favorite of mine, Chiesa’s combination of pace, vision, and the
all-important “grinta” (grit, determination) that made him a Juventus favorite after one season
makes him a joy to watch. He reminds me so much of Mane, capable of scoring with either
foot while possessing the searing pace to dribble past defenders with ease. His finishing could
use a little work, but he has hit some absolute screamers in the past so it’s not that bad. His
grinta makes him an absolute demon in the press, averaging 1.5 tackles per game in Serie A,
while his creativity and versatility allow him to be a good fit for any role in the front three. While
I don’t think he’s worth £86 million, he’s certainly worth a good amount of money that Liverpool
likely won’t give up. Throw in Juventus seemingly making Chiesa and de Ligt their new core,
and he’s off-limits to anyone, no matter the price. However, we can take away from the links to
Chiesa that Liverpool are looking for someone like Jota, someone who can play across the
front three, although Chiesa would likely be more comfortable in Firmino’s role than Jota
currently is. There’s a certain archetype that our wingers fit, they’re smaller but incredibly
strong, blazing fast, and have a tendency to cut inside to take the shot or run around the
defender and send in a cross from the touchline. They’re also extremely adept at the pressing
system, tracking back far more than the average winger. Chiesa checks all these boxes, and I
can assume that our eventual forward signing can do so as well.
Saul: The Atletico Madrid midfielder has slowly been pushed out of the starting lineup by
signings such as Marcos Llorente and Rodrigo de Paul (a frequent appearance in my previous
analytical articles). As such, it is possible that both club and player, coming off of a couple
seasons of decline at the age of 26, feel that a breakup is necessary. We saw in 2020, when we
faced Atletico in the Champions League, just how influential Saul can be on the game. His
height makes him a strong aerial threat, something that Liverpool have lacked for many years.
His technique, combined with his incredible strength, both physically and mentally, made Saul
a rare player, the player that has no real weakness. He’s tactically astute, having played in a
number of formations under Simeone while also being positionally versatile, having played at
left-back and on either wing in addition to all three of our usual midfield spots. This might be a
key factor that Liverpool’s looking for, having also seen their recent links to Franck Kessie.
Liverpool have three players that can play at the base of midfield: Fabinho, Henderson, and
Thiago. Yet all three of them missed out for a significant period of time through injury, forcing
Wijnaldum into a role that he was somewhat ill-suited to play. Having another player that can
play at the base of the midfield should one or more of those three be injured might be a focus
in any midfield signing. However, Saul in recent years has become less and less controlling of
the game, providing neither enough defensive or attacking contributions that he was once
known for. Both his offensive and defensive numbers were very average this past season, only
scoring twice and assisting once, while not averaging more than 2 tackles per game for a very
physical Atletico side. His ball-carrying and ball-shielding ability has become his only real
strength instead of being one of his many great strengths, meaning that he would replace
Wijnaldum well. But if we want more out of him, I am unsure as to whether or not he can still be
the amazing box-to-box midfielder we know he once was.
Jarrod Bowen: Let me be very clear, my initial reaction to seeing us linked with paying nearly
£40 million for Jarrod Bowen was one of great surprise. A solid player, yes. A versatile player,
surely. But £40 million for that, and furthermore to expect him to be one of the leaders of our
future? I wasn’t quite sure about him being that good. Bowen’s steadily risen through the ranks
in his career, eventually being bought by West Ham, who were in desperate need of the goals
he’d provided for Hull City in the Championship (hmm, another Hull player, interesting). Now it’s
worth saying that Bowen got these stats for a defensive West Ham setup, which makes his 8
goals and 5 assists look better. Aside from that, Bowen fits the bill for a typical Liverpool
forward: he has stamina for days in the press, he’s a good crosser of the ball. However, in
terms of his passing, you can again take this with a pinch of salt due to West Ham’s system but
he’d be much better out wide rather than in Firmino’s role. His passing percentage is only 74%,
which would make sense if he were attempting key passes, but he didn’t even get to 1 per
game in that department. Therefore I’m not sure if we’ll go after him, as he’s not quite versatile
enough while also being highly expensive due to the English tax. Bowen just kinda seems like a
“meh” player: he’s very good, but not quite worth the gamble when it would take up over half
the budget to sign him.
Franck Kessie: The 24-year-old Ivorian has quietly gone under the radar thus far and made a
name for himself both last season and so far in the Olympics. I knew who Kessie was for a
while, but I didn’t think he was Liverpool material, much like Bowen above. While I think Bowen
could be a solid player for us if Klopp were to coach him up a bit, I have found out I was very
wrong about Kessie. The man scored 13 goals as a defensive midfielder last season.
THIRTEEN! Now I am a little concerned about his relatively measly 4 assists and the 0.8 key
passes per game, but he has a very expansive passing range and completed over 53 passes
per game at an 88% clip, in addition to 3 long passes per game. His defensive game is very
well-rounded, averaging over a tackle and interception per game, showing a strong reading of
the game itself. So he’s got shooting range, defensive chops, and great passing ability. My
worry though is that Kessie plays very similarly to Fabinho and seems much more comfortable
in a two-man pivot or as a 6 than as an 8. The goals suggest otherwise though, so I might be
wrong. He’s a very intriguing option, but he appears an option that’s more suited to being
played in a 4-2-3-1 than as a replacement for Wijnaldum. This again suggests Klopp might be
looking for another midfielder versatile enough to play at the base of midfield, as Kessie seems
most comfortable in that role. Kessie would be a very solid purchase, overall, one that could
bring about a permanent change in formation.
Yves Bissouma: Now we get to my personal preferences for who I want Liverpool to buy this
summer. First up, for the midfield, we have Yves Bissouma, who has quietly turned into the
Malian Saul during his time at Brighton. His passing? Tremendous. His defensive work and
ball-carrying? A perfect fit to replace Gini. His creativity? Now that we’re seeing Brighton
become less and less of a defensive team, we’re seeing the goals and assists starting to come
up for him. His versatility? He’s capable of playing at the base of midfield, which I’ve previously
mentioned as a solid fit. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t aware of Bissouma’s creative talents. I thought
he could come in and match the graft of Gini, but that he wouldn’t be able to give us more
attacking output, which Gini was always capable of despite playing a role that wouldn’t allow
him to show it. Now his raw numbers in attacking output aren’t impressive: 2 goals, 0 assists.
Much less impressive than Kessie, I admit. But Bissouma is quite an adept passer and dribbler,
meaning that perhaps he can put himself into opportunities to get more goals and assists if he
is coached up to do so. Throw in his impressive defensive work and I think he’s the perfect
replacement for Wijnaldum.
Ollie Watkins: Now, for the forward signing, I’d really enjoy Ollie Watkins being signed by
Liverpool. He is exactly what I’d like in a forward signing: a striker that can play on the wing.
He’s got the versatility to play across the forward line, the ability to hold the ball up and allow
runners to get into scoring positions (a key part of Firmino’s game), he’s a threat in and around
the box due to his aerial prowess, despite being 180 cm tall, and he’s got the finishing ability to
hit all types of shots. He played mainly as a striker for Villa, but had played on the wing in
previous seasons for Brentford, his pace often being used to stretch defenses in the lower
leagues. He’s got the full set of tools, in my opinion, to give Liverpool a different option while
also fitting in with the current system. Throw in the fact that he’s 25 and English and it’s even
easier to imagine him fitting in without having to worry about the non-homegrown factor.
For GDoc, here’s the link to the Firmino video: https://youtu.be/kpCK3k9WO1o
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