Florian Neuhaus

[dmishra]

So it looks more and more that our interest in him is serious. Maybe we see a move for him post the Euros. Apparently, Gladbach are willing to let him leave if they get a bid of about 45 million euros.

Would love to get the forum's thoughts on this chap.

From the little I know, I can see why Klopp would be interested in him as a long-term Wijnaldum replacement.

• He's absolutely glorious technically. Wonderful feet, can turn on a sixpence. Very good technique striking the ball with both feet. You see him pass the ball into the net when he strikes it. He had a very handy 8 goals from midfield last year, which would be a very welcome addition.
• Apparently, a very good presser and very good at resisting the press, which is exactly what you need to replace Gini. He's also been coached by Marco Rose at Gladbach, which would also be a reason why we'd be interested. Klopp likes players who're already acquainted with a high-press system, and Rose is a Klopp protege.
• Very clean injury record. Has had a very heavy workload at Gladbach over the last 3 years, and barely missed a game.

My one concern would be the physicality of the Prem. He doesn't seem particularly physical - Gini on the other hand was incredibly strong - almost impossible to dispossess when on the ball. Keita is someone who has struggled with adapting to that part of the game, so I hope it wouldn't happen with this guy.

 

[Frogfish]

Wonderful highlight reel. I've only seen/heard of him mentioned over the past few months but yes, definitely seems to fit the model we should be looking at. Who here is more conversant with the BL? Modo?

 

[The Nomad]

Looks like he'd be fantastic for us..however Bayern are also interested. And 9/10 you know what happens when a German player is wanted by Bayern.

 

[dmishra]

Wonderful highlight reel. I've only seen/heard of him mentioned over the past few months but yes, definitely seems to fit the model we should be looking at. Who here is more conversant with the BL? Modo?

It's a very impressive highlight clip, but I've seen him play against City and he's very much a workman like CM. He is not someone who instantly wows you or a player who runs the show from midfield. In that game, he predominantly sat in the LCM spot where his role was exactly the Wijnaldum role. Receive the ball from the defence or your midfield partner, beat the press and quickly progress the ball forward. He does that role well, because he's very competent receiving the ball back to goal and turning quickly. He doesn't play too many long passes, nor does he do many eye-catching through balls. He can carry the ball a bit and is fairly mobile, but isn't a physical monster by any means.

I'd say he'd be very similar role-wise to Wijnaldum if we bought him, with some clear strengths and weaknesses. Wijnaldum was exceptionally strong and impossible to dispossess. He was also very good at arriving in the box and a good header of the ball. Terrible striker of the ball from distance though.

This chap likes to arrive in the box too and strikes the ball far more cleanly than Wijnaldum, but I don't think he'll have any of Gini's aerial threat. I also don't think he'll be as strong as Gini on the ball.

 

[Modo]

Wonderful highlight reel. I've only seen/heard of him mentioned over the past few months but yes, definitely seems to fit the model we should be looking at. Who here is more conversant with the BL? Modo?

Not any more. Maybe @Holle knows.

 

[tombrown]

I've heard Florian has been looking for a Neuhaus on the Wirral, maybe Zinadine's Oldhaus.

 

[RedStar]

Let's face it whoever replaces Wjinaldum needs to be able to play 50 games a season. I don't know much about this guy but he seems like a proper midfielder, good spatial awareness which is key to beating a press. CM is really the only area on the pitch where an opposing player can come from any direction to dispossess you so you need 360 degree awareness of what's happening around you. He seems to have that in spades, like a souped up Didi Hamann.

 

[tombrown]

How do you post a Twitter thread?
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[tombrown]

 

[tombrown]

 

[Markeh]

He isn't the fastest (ranked 362nd out of 477 in Bundesliga last season - top speed), but raw pace isn't really an issue in his game.

I know people will say pace isn’t everything but how does he compare to Gini in that respect? Our midfielders need to be mobile enough to cover for the fullbacks and Thiago already looks a little short of speed in those situations.

 

[dmishra]

I've heard Florian has been looking for a Neuhaus on the Wirral, maybe Zinadine's Oldhaus.

Speaking of this, can someone correct the spelling of his name in the title. Can't edit it now.

 

[Woland]

Curtis Jones is replacing Gini, and he's better than either him or this cunt

 

[dmishra]

We have 7 midfielders at the club.

1 of them (Milner) is 35 and is likely in the final year of his career before he retires. He started only 15 games last year, and one can't expect him to carry a huge workload anymore.

2 of them (Ox and Keita) are permanently injured and totally unreliable.

2 of them (Thiago and Henderson) are both excellent players, but now both in their 30s, and have each missed 10+ games every year for the last 6 seasons. That will almost certainly happen next year as well.

That leaves Fabinho and Jones as the 2 players who we'll be leaning to carry the best part of a 50 game workload.

Jones has made great strides in the last year. He started last season very well, though he faded a bit to the end. Physicallly, I think he's ready to make the step up to carry the workload of a full senior season. But mentally, I don't know if he has it yet. He's only 20. To expect a 20 year old to play 40-50 games a season in a demanding physical role, and keep up consistency and quality throughout is a big ask. Most players don't start start hitting their consistency prime till they're about 23-24, and I suspect that will be the case with Jones as well.

We need another midfielder. Someone who's in his physical prime and has a few years of first team experience.

Else, we're going to be short in midfield next year.

Ideally, you sell one of Ox or Keita to buy this new player.

 

[tomasjj]

If he costs 45 mill, you add 10 and get Tielemans.
Better balance of risk vs reward.

 

[Red Astaire]

If he costs 45 mill, you add 10 and get Tielemans.
Better balance of risk vs reward.

Aye Tielemans is my number one choice of jizztastic transfers. I’ve an old school buddy who (while not exactly an ITK - He does works in the media in some sleuth-like capacity) He really does come up trumps with info occasionally. He told me about how Fabinho has been a surprising go between. They played together at Monaco. Interestingly Mbappe also played with Fabs at Monaco. Feel free to shoot the messenger but there is some kind of link between the three of them. Fabs, Tielemens and Mbappe. It seems a bit far fetched to me and my buddy admits there is a massive stretch of credibility involved. Thing is he knows for a fact that Fabs has been in contact with them both. There is some kind of TAA connection too. Fuck knows what that’s about. There is some kind of buddy connection apparently. There you have it…

 

[The Nomad]

Aye Tielemans is my number one choice of jizztastic transfers. I’ve an old school buddy who (while not exactly an ITK - He does works in the media in some sleuth-like capacity) He really does come up trumps with info occasionally. He told me about how Fabinho has been a surprising go between. They played together at Monaco. Interestingly Mbappe also played with Fabs at Monaco. Feel free to shoot the messenger but there is some kind of link between the three of them. Fabs, Tielemens and Mbappe. It seems a bit far fetched to me and my buddy admits there is a massive stretch of credibility involved. Thing is he knows for a fact that Fabs has been in contact with them both. There is some kind of TAA connection too. Fuck knows what that’s about. There is some kind of buddy connection apparently. There you have it…

TAA and Mbappe have been friendly since some commercial. TAA even copied his celebration which Mbappe loved apparently.

Would cost too much in wages to even contemplate sadly.

 

[Holle]

Not any more. Maybe @Holle knows.

Sorry pal, I know next to nothing.

Which, in itself, is sufficient information.

Curtis probably is head and shoulders above him.

 

[King Binny]

High praise from this German reporter

[article]Florian Plettenberg, chief reporter at German outlet Sport1, told the ECHO on a special Florian Neuhaus podcast what Liverpool fans could expect if a move does happen - though he also warned it is more than possible that Neuhaus could remain at Gladbach for another 12 months.

"I would compare Neuhaus to Leon Goretzka - a typical box-to-box midfielder, who is very good in the offense and very powerful in the defence area," Plettenberg said.

"Neuhaus is very good in front of goal and he is a dangerous player. He is very flexible and can also play on the wings - technically and physically very good, and the perfect player for Jurgen Klopp.

"But he would also be very interesting for Julian Nagelsmann at Bayern Munich next year... [their financial situation means a transfer this summer would be unlikely].

"Neuhaus is able to score goals and also to win tackles - it is a special mixture and you cannot find it so often.

"He has the quality for the next big step and he will one day make a step one of the top five teams in the world."

"For sure [signing for Klopp would be a big appeal]," Plettenberg added.

"Klopp has shown that he can develop players and I have never heard a player who could not imagine working with him!

"Klopp knows the [agent] of Neuhaus and the [agent] of Neuhaus knows Klopp very well, so it could be the perfect match - he would fit very well.

"If you speak with him, you can see that he is very open-minded. He knows what he has to do.

"Neuhaus is one of the best five midfielders in the Bundesliga. He has the quality and the talent to get his breakthrough in a top club and he is playing constantly."

Neuhaus' former coach, Marco Rose, who has now moved to Borussia Dortmund, had a big impact on his development over the past two years.

Rose was a player for Klopp while he was in charge of Mainz in the late 1990s, and Klopp, in Rose's own words, shaped how the up-and-coming coach works and sets up his teams.

There could hardly be any better preparation for working with Klopp himself, should Liverpool ultimately table an offer.[/article]

 

[TheRedCrusade]

I would buy him for his last name alone.

 

[peekay]

The articles about him make him look impressive. But the praise for Keita, Werner, Havertz in German media were of similar if not higher level when the transfers were being made.

 

[Brizzle]

Let's face it whoever replaces Wjinaldum needs to be able to play 50 games a season. I don't know much about this guy but he seems like a proper midfielder, good spatial awareness which is key to beating a press. CM is really the only area on the pitch where an opposing player can come from any direction to dispossess you so you need 360 degree awareness of what's happening around you. He seems to have that in spades, like a souped up Didi Hamann.

As long as the CBs stay fit, i see us playing Fabinho all season with Hendo, Thiago, Jones & Milner rotating through those other two roles. On paper that should be pretty decent, I guess there is a gap if Fabinho needs a rest. There is also the Naby challenge if we keep him as he would now be a sub not a starter and he usually needs time to get into rhythm (rhythm which is almost always disrupted by an injury).

 

[dmishra]

The articles about him make him look impressive. But the praise for Keita, Werner, Havertz in German media were of similar if not higher level when the transfers were being made.

True but its not like those guys are complete busts. Havertz will be very good IMO. He suffered under an oaf of a manager in Lampard and should be much better next year. Keita's a good player, just has a terribly brittle body.

Werner is the one that is the big problem.

Though I must say that the German press had warned of his poor attitude - a bit of a mercenary and a shithouse. It's probably the reason he won't make it to the very top despite having all the physical attributes to do so. I'm glad we didn't sign him. Jota is so much better.

 

[Fallon]

Having seen plenty of Naby before he came, it still baffles me what's happened to him. He had everything in his locker, and there's smaller players in the league who do it on a regular basis. He must be the most disappointing transfer for me since Kewell.

I've only seen Neuhaus a few times, but they were all MOTM performances. He's a player who seems to make the smart choice 99% of the time, and he's a very good carrier of the ball for his position. It'd be worth it for the kop's Commodores cover alone.

 

[RedStar]

As long as the CBs stay fit, i see us playing Fabinho all season with Hendo, Thiago, Jones & Milner rotating through those other two roles. On paper that should be pretty decent, I guess there is a gap if Fabinho needs a rest. There is also the Naby challenge if we keep him as he would now be a sub not a starter and he usually needs time to get into rhythm (rhythm which is almost always disrupted by an injury).

I think we would be falling into the same trap we set for ourselves this season at CB just assuming that everybody stays fit and we will be fine. Hendo and Fabinho will miss 10 games each with injury. Milner really isn't at the level required anymore, love the guy but I think we'd be struggling if we had to rely on him for any length of time.

We need bodies in midfield, it's a hugely demanding role in Klopps system.

 

[bluebell]

I think we would be falling into the same trap we set for ourselves this season at CB just assuming that everybody stays fit and we will be fine. Hendo and Fabinho will miss 10 games each with injury. Milner really isn't at the level required anymore, love the guy but I think we'd be struggling if we had to rely on him for any length of time.

We need bodies in midfield, it's a hugely demanding role in Klopps system.

Sell Kieta and Ox it might be we get £40-50m for both and then sign a player without a history of ailments

 

[Brizzle]

I think we would be falling into the same trap we set for ourselves this season at CB just assuming that everybody stays fit and we will be fine. Hendo and Fabinho will miss 10 games each with injury. Milner really isn't at the level required anymore, love the guy but I think we'd be struggling if we had to rely on him for any length of time.

We need bodies in midfield, it's a hugely demanding role in Klopps system.

I don't disagree - I just don't think the next CM we buy needs to be one who will do 50 games a season, I see Fabinho being that mainstay and the rest largely rotating around him (ideally to avoid overplaying them). I am not clear on what the alternative to Fabinho at DM is, unless it is Hendo in certain games where we think Fabs can be rested.

 

[RedStar]

At this point its Hendo if Fabinho is out injured. I don't think we will sign a player to play that role unless we think Fabinho is going to move on. Alot of our midfielders miss big chunks of the season with injuries, we dont have the luxury of a settled midfield. I'm not advocating we sign another Lucas type that just plays because he's the point fit player, but we do need somebody to pick up the 50 games a year Gini does because of our current option I don't see anybody that can plug that gap.

I'll admit I'm not 100% sold on Jones being a starter yet, I think he's got loads of potential but he drifts out of games alot, Klopp seems not to quite trust him yet either, frequently taking him off when games get close. He's only 20 so he has years before he reaches his prime.

 

[SummerOnions]

He's got an easy song hasn't he

'Neuhaus, in the middle of our team'

 

[Modo]

He's got an easy song hasn't he

'Neuhaus, in the middle of our team'

"In the middle of the pitch", maybe?