A Comprehensive Preview
ANOTHER ARTICLE FROM MATTY
<Welcome to Part 2 of Matty being back on his bullshit about player analysis. We looked back at each of the players in Liverpool’s first team as well as some academy stars to analyze how well we’ve done this season and also where we could feasibly improve. Let’s recap on who could possibly leave in the summer of 2022:
80% chance: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Nat Phillips, Adrian
60% chance: Neco Williams, Divock Origi
40% chance: Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita
20% chance: Sadio Mane
Obviously, not all three amigos will leave in one summer, but I illustrated that there’s a possibility of any one of them leaving in the summer. I included Naby and Origi because of how crowded the midfield and forward depth will be if we decide to bring in someone else. Ox is the only departure that I’m pretty sure is nailed on and Carvalho may take his place in the squad before any more signings come in. The space has to come from somewhere. So let’s analyze some players that would fit some criteria that Edwards and now Ward would usually look for in a signing:
-2 years or more in a top five European league
-Somewhere between the ages of 17-24
-Fulfills statistical requirement based on position (long passing, pressing, pass completion rate, etc)
Now then, let’s begin.
Raphinha: Let’s start with some news that you might not have heard: Leeds apparently have a very slim chance of keeping Raphinha for next season, even if they manage to avoid relegation. If they do end up relegated, Raphinha’s release clause would be anywhere from £17-20 million, an absolute bargain for a player of his caliber. In short, Raphinha is one of the only reasons Leeds’ attack has done anything this season and is the bright spot in a bleak group of players. However, his stats don’t paint the best picture in regards to his fit with Liverpool. He’s only in the 33rd percentile in pressures and 58th percentile for goals. He’s also only on the third percentile for passing accuracy. So I’m not quite sure if he’s a great fit, but he’s cheap enough to take a punt on and he has scored nine goals this season. He does rate highly on progressive passes, dribbling and shot-creating actions so perhaps he’s better suited to our midfield than to the attack.
Antony: From one Brazilian to another, the 21-year-old winger from Ajax has had a breakout season. Scoring 9 goals and 8 assists in 26 games between the Champions League and Eredivisie, Antony fits the bill of a typical Liverpool winger with the exception of the pressing, of which he only rates in the 20th percentile. He is the 90th percentile or higher in expected goals and assists, progressive passes, progressive carries, and interceptions, and he’s in the 86th percentile in shot-creating actions. It must be said that he averages 13.21 pressures per game, so let’s take a look at the pressure numbers of current Liverpool players. Firmino averages 22.95 per game (his charts are f’n ridiculous, man, reports of this man’s decline are highly exaggerated), Salah averages 15.61 per game (not that much more than Antony), and Luis Díaz averages 13.63 (almost identical to Antony). So the pressure numbers aren’t that much worse. Same goes for Raphinha as well then. Antony’s price tag would probably be anywhere from £40-60 million.
Martin Terrier: This is gonna sound a bit jumbled based on what I’ve said below, but the young Frenchman has had basically nothing said about him when he’s looking like another Diogo Jota type of player. He profiled very similarly to the young Portuguese and he’s scored 13 goals in Ligue 1 this season for Rennes. He has outperformed his expected goals and assists numbers, which are relatively average compared to Jota (60th percentile, to be exact), but he is a pressing monster, averaging almost 22 pressures per game. He’s more of a striker than a winger, but he’d be a shrewd purchase, a bit of a rough gem.
Before I continue, I’ve got two things to say. Firstly, Christopher Nkunku would be my preferred option for a forward but I’ve already written an entire article on him and Youri Tielemans so if you want analysis on them, I’ve already got a lot said about them. Secondly, I’ve upgraded my stats machine to the ones that Liverpool are more likely to actually use. I’ve gone from using WhoScored to FBRef. The main reason for this is because while WhoScored looks almost strictly at basic raw in-game data and has more raw data than FBRef, FBRef has a lot more advanced analytics and stats to pick from. Plus, it gives me a more detailed look at pressing numbers, which are somewhat hard to quantify on other sites. Lastly, FBRef still gives me a lot of the basic data of WhoScored and even offers player comparisons based on their composite percentile score. Now, onto the midfielders!
Aurelien Tchouameni: Something I have seen brought up is that we don’t really have a backup for Fabinho. Yes, Henderson is a fantastic player who can step in for Fabinho when needed. Tchouameni has gotten a lot of hype over the past year or so and yet Monaco’s price tag actually seems to be decreasing, surprisingly. So let’s take a look and see if the young Frenchman fits the bill as a Fabinho backup. Of course, with our midfield you’d want more than just a specialist backup so if he shows some promise in the attacking phases, it’s much better for us. The best way I can describe Tchouameni is “well-rounded”. He doesn’t necessarily flash in many areas but he has very few weaknesses, a lot of his stats hover from around the 50th to 70th percentile. His strengths seem to be his passing and his defensive work, he is both tall and very quick and yet a very technical player as well. He also attempts a fair number of shots, ranking in the 88th percentile among midfielders. If you ask me, he’d be a strong addition to the midfield because of his versatility as a midfielder. He can do whatever Klopp asks of him, a blend of Wijnaldum and Fabinho.
Jude Bellingham: I’m just gonna put his name here because I do really like him but, like Tielemans and Nkunku, I’ve already written multiple articles on him and also shown stat charts on him. I can post those in the comments if you so choose. I just feel like I’ve done a lot of talk on him and would rather focus on some lesser-known commodities.
Ryan Gravenberch: Going back to the Ajax well for a young midfielder who could thrive in a number of roles. Still only 19, Gravenberch has long been compared to Juventus Paul Pogba, the dynamic all-rounder that wasn’t infected by United to become an egotistical shell of his former self. Gravenberch’s pressing numbers are similar to those of our captain, his passing numbers are a dream to look at, and his dribbling is superb. As a progressive carrier of the ball, Gravenberch is probably best as a box-to-box player, his analytical profile similar to that of Fede Valverde and Frenkie de Jong, two players that I’ve long pounded the table for. He’s also 190 cm tall, if you’re into your midfielders being tall. Just a very good player who’s still got a lot of room to grow, I feel like he would offer us a little bit of everything.
Amadou Haidara: Much like how I found Terrier, I looked for players with a similar profile to either current targets or current players at Liverpool, and I found Haidara. And I must say, I think I’ve found ourselves a durable Naby Keita. 24 years old from Mali, Haidara’s stats sheet has a whole lotta green, which is a very, very good thing. 92nd percentile in non-penalty goals, 97th percentile in progressive passes, 78th percentile in tackles, 84th percentile in shot creating actions. Also much like Terrier, haven’t heard a peep about other clubs being interested in him outside of maybe the odd report linking him to United. But he seems like an excellent all-around midfielder, lots of action in his game much like Naby. Plus we rob Leipzig again. That’s always fun.
Djed Spence: This is how you know we’ve reached the backup right back section: this guy is from Nottingham Forest. But I did see a rumor linking us with the 21-year-old so I thought I’d do my due diligence on Spence. I’ll be honest, I couldn’t find much on the guy, but he does have a goal and assist and seems to have good defensive stats. Seems like one to keep an eye on, but not quite one to buy at this moment in time.
Just a quick note before I continue: it’s hilarious to me that wingers have a similar statistical profile to Trent. Like, this guy is truly unique as a right back.
Jeremie Frimpong: The 21-year-old right back from Bayer Leverkusen, the former Celtic alum Frimpong is starting to come into his own this season, scoring twice and bagging eight assists. Frimpong’s primary asset is his athleticism, he reminds me of Lamptey in how he just has pace for days, incredible burst and dribbling ability to carry the ball from one end of the pitch to the other. He’s also tall enough to play in the center of the defense, he did so at times for Celtic. Much like Gomez, he could find himself getting playing time at two positions in the defense, which might make it worth paying around £20 million to grab him. Just someone to keep an eye on, in case Bradley and Williams aren’t ready to take another step in their development.
Well, that’s about all I can manage for one night. This turned into an absolute behemoth of an article idea, spread out over two parts and well over 1,000 words.
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