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The new DM ... ?

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Rosco

Worse than Brendan
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I think its fair to say everyone thinks we need a new DM.

Both Henderson and Can do and can play the role but Henderson's future doesn't look too bright and even if Can does sign his new deal he never really impresses at DM. And Lucas is Lucas.

So who are the candidates ?

Are we looking for a Makelele / Kante type or do we need more from our DM ?
 
I think its fair to say everyone thinks we need a new DM.

Both Henderson and Can do and can play the role but Henderson's future doesn't look too bright and even if Can does sign his new deal he never really impresses at DM. And Lucas is Lucas.

So who are the candidates ?

Are we looking for a Makelele / Kante type or do we need more from our DM ?

Yes, everyone knows we need a DM, it's nice to see that everyone has finally caught up and we're all on the same page!

I'd be happy with a player with Kante's attributes and qualities, obviously
 
Naby Kieta. End of thread .. unless we don't get him of course. And to add that he's not a typical DM.
 
I'm not sure Klopp wants a specialist DM. I think someone in the mould of what we already have or Fernandinho is what we'll be after.
 
If Henderson can stay fit and produce the form from the first half of the season, then I would spend the money elsewhere.
 
Chelsea play with a flat back 7 pretty much and 3 attacking players, and they're gonna win the league. I'm happy enough to have a flat back 4, and then one DM that does nothing but cover the defence, breaks up play, and makes basic short passes to players that can create/attack.
 
I'm not sure Klopp wants a specialist DM. I think someone in the mould of what we already have or Fernandinho is what we'll be after.
There's Naby Kieta again - similar players in many regards (I'm going off YouTube highlights and German ITK commentators). Defence-minded (great stats) but with attacking intent and goals and assists to show ofr it.
 
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Unfortunately it doesn't look like Hendo has the body to stay fit for entire seasons. We are seeing that it is a key role we need to fill, so trying to get someone in now is a good shout. We have players who might come through the ranks and be a good part of the midfield trio like Ejaria and Grujic, but neither can occupy that role. Hendo had a good mix of positioning, ability/willingness to tackle and most importantly passing/ footballing brain and tempo. We need someone who can try to have all of these attributes. Hendo's weakest of those three was his tackling, but I feel he made up for it with his passing and ability to dictate the tempo and lead from the middle.

Pains me to say that we need to start looking at how we replace. I'd then be happy to keep him in the squad and play when fit, but have someone we know he can rotate with. Think about the minutes Carrick for example plays - much less, but he still has an impact at United when he plays and is a great player to be able to rotate in and out.
 
I don't think we can rely on Henderson - i have visions of him being a super sub from now on.

In terms of a replacement Serie A seems to be a bit of a gold mine for midfielders at the minute.
 
I think we need to spend the money everywhere to be honest. There's pretty much no position in the team that I don't think could do with an upgrade right now.
 
And if we're talking about realistic targets who would you suggest ?


As i mentioned earlier Serie A is bristling with promising young midfielders at the minute :
Donsah & Nagy - Bologna
Diousse - Empoli
Fofana - Udinese
Milinkovic-Savic - Lazio
Pellegrini & Sensi - Sassuolo
Torreira - Sampdoria

All of them seem to fit the description of what we need.
 
Bar Kessie, I dont really think any of those around 19-20 are someone we can buy now and expect and instant impact.
That surely has to be the criteria regarding our new DM.

We also need players that are comfortable in the DM position and used to playing there. Not as a traditional CM.
Keita or Leandro Paredes would improve us greatly.
 
I think we need to spend the money everywhere to be honest. There's pretty much no position in the team that I don't think could do with an upgrade right now.

Wouldn't disagree, but strengthening the DM position is the one move which I reckon would have the widest positive repercussions of all. At a stroke it would give the back four extra protection (other sides genuinely challenging for the title have rarely been without at least one quality DM) and allow a fair number of our other MFs, none of whom are particularly defensive-minded, to concentrate on what they do best. I'd go as far as to say we need to fetch more than one DM into the squad this summer.
 
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Is Keita suited as a DM? The videos I saw made him look more like a CM who had an eye for dropping his shoulder and making piercing runs forward..
 
I think we need to spend the money everywhere to be honest. There's pretty much no position in the team that I don't think could do with an upgrade right now.

Yeah, but the midfield has been broken for quite a few years now and we could really do with fixing it.

It needs at the very least one top class addition.
 
Is Keita suited as a DM? The videos I saw made him look more like a CM who had an eye for dropping his shoulder and making piercing runs forward..

This is a good read about him:

Why Naby Keita would give Liverpool the stability they need in midfield

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Jack Lusby
@jacklusby_
7 March 2017

With Liverpool pursuing RB Leipzig midfielder Naby Keita this summer, Jurgen Klopp may have struck upon the ideal solution in the middle.
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Keita emerged as a possible target for the Reds at the beginning of March, with Klopp clearly looking to bolster his midfield ranks ahead of the 2017/18 campaign.
Indeed, the player himself though confirmed such interest last October, saying: “Arsenal, and Man City…were interested in signing me and Liverpool as well.”
Liverpool are likely to be playing in either the Champions League or the Europa League next season, and their efforts on four fronts will require a bigger and stronger squad.
Klopp already has Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana, Georginio Wijnaldum and Emre Can as regular fixtures in midfield, with Lucas Leiva, Kevin Stewart, Marko Grujic and Ovie Ejaria also available.
But the addition of a talent like Keita could see Liverpool’s options improved significantly, with the 22-year-old one of the best young players in the Bundesliga this season.
And if Klopp is able to convince the Guinean to make the move to Merseyside, he could stabilise his midfield for years to come.

Naby Keita

Born in Conakry, Guinea in 1995, Kieta has followed an arduous path to the top of the Bundesliga, with the midfielder not playing top-flight football until 2014.
He began his career with local side Horoya AC, before his 10th birthday, spending seven years on the books at the Stade 28 Septembre before seeking opportunities abroad, moving to France to live with compatriot Guy-Michel Landel.
But after trials with both FC Lorient and Le Mans, Keita remained without a club for two years, only linking up with Ligue 2 outfit FC Istres midway through the 2013/14 campaign.
Quickly impressing in Fos-sur-Mer, Keita was snapped up by Austrian heavyweights Red Bull Salzburg in 2014, in a deal worth around £1.25 million, joining the same summer Sadio Mane departed for Southampton.
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At Salzburg, he linked up with former Liverpool goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi, as well as soon-to-be Klopp signing Kevin Kampl, who left to join Borussia Dortmund during the winter transfer window.
During his time with Salzburg, Keita made 81 appearances, scoring 20 goals and assisting 11 as his side won back-to-back Austrian Bundesliga titles despite playing under four different managers.
Keita moved to Leipzig, Salzburg’s sister-club, after two seasons, with this spell in Austria giving the midfielder a great grounding due to the two sides’ deliberately similar tactical outlooks.
“I was welcomed with open arms and I felt good straight away. It’s a lot of hard work but it’s fun. I love our attacking style of play,” he said shortly after his arrival in Saxony.
“The atmosphere in the team is amazing but it’s like that at every level of the club. You sense that something big is happening here.
Keita was certainly right, with the 22-year-old now part of a title-challenging side, and his performances have been one of the key factors behind Ralph Hasenhuttl’s unexpected success.

Strengths, Weaknesses & Style of Play

Red Bull have unearthed a modern gem in Keita, with the youngster a genuine all-rounder in midfield, able to operate in a variety of roles—and he often does over the course of 90 minutes.
He typically lines up in a deep-lying midfield duo in Hasenhuttl’s unorthodox 4-4-2 formation, but his energy and versatility provide him the freedom of the pitch.
“I play in front of the defence and I love touching the ball as often as possible,” Keita explained in December.
“In Leipzig, I really enjoy this. I feel good and I like attacking at speed, and if I get the slightest chance I try to score.”
As is required in his natural role, Keita is a strong defensive presence, with the Guinean possessing an intelligent perception of the game, averaging three successful tackles and 3.1 interceptions per 90 in the Bundesliga.
He pairs this with a confidence in possession, ensuring he is a constant outlet for his team-mates, willing to play swift one-twos and, crucially, push the ball forward whenever possible.
Only five central midfielders have averaged more key passes per 90 in the German top flight this season (1.8), while only Mane (1.9), Roberto Firmino (2.1) and Philippe Coutinho (2.8) have for Liverpool.
Keita also averages 3.7 successful dribbles per 90, with a useful measure of his speed and excellent close control coming in comparison with Tottenham‘s Mousa Dembele (3.5).
This allows him to drive forward and support attacks, with his off-ball equally impressive, helping him to score four goals in 22 games for Leipzig already this season, including against Dortmund on his Bundesliga debut, with eight assists to his name, too.
Given his role and his diminutive stature, standing at 5’7″, it would be easy to compare Keita to N’Golo Kante, but he is a completely different player, whose role model is Andres Iniesta.
However, while Kante performs with maturity and composure, with his game intelligence fuelling the Blues’ title charge, Keita can be guilty over being overeager in midfield, in one of few flaws.
Furthermore, given his height, he is not the typical Klopp central midfielder, but this all depends on what role the German envisages him playing in.

Where Keita Would Fit in at Liverpool

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Having overseen a failed title charge in 2016/17, and planning for European football next season, Klopp will need to bolster his squad both in terms of quality and quantity this summer.
The German is likely to call upon Henderson, Lallana, Wijnaldum, Can, Grujic and Ejaria in 2017/18, as he tailors his options to suit Liverpool’s established midfield setup.
Keita would certainly be able to slot into Klopp’s current system, as he explained of Leipzig’s approach back in December.
“We play a modern game based on speed and technique. Every time we lose the ball we press our opponents hard to recover it as soon as possible,” he said.
“We are difficult to play against and our main quality is that the danger can come from anywhere.”
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Given his all-around quality, it could be that Keita has been earmarked to operate in a similar box-to-box role to Wijnaldum, or even Lallana, boasting the same control, dribbling ability and confidence in possession.
But in reality, the Guinean could suit any role in Klopp’s midfield, such is his versatility, and he could even take up a position as Liverpool’s new No. 6.
Keita is a tactically flexible, high-potential young midfielder on course to reach elite level, and while it may be a struggle to fend off their competitors this summer, he should be considered a must-buy for Liverpool.
 
Wouldn't disagree, but strengthening the DM position is the one move which I reckon would have the widest positive repercussions of all. At a stroke it would give the back four extra protection (other sides genuinely challenging for the title have rarely been without at least one quality DM) and allow a fair number of our other MFs, none of whom are particularly defensive-minded, to concentrate on what they do best. I'd go as far as to say we need to fetch more than one DM into the squad this summer.

It might give the defence extra protection but that's not going to matter much if we don't have a settled, effective back four. There is an argument to say that without the centre back partnership being right - which I don't think it currently is - then that will undermine everything else. So I'm not sure whether that dominant centre back isn't as much of a priority.

Then as has been said, our full backs aren't really doing what we need them to do - whether that's because there's no real alternatives (yet) within the squad, I don't know. And yeah, the midfield when on song is decent but when the chips are down is fairly non-existant, so the presence of an imposing, shielding midfielder would be huge for us. I guess I just feel that no one position or player is going to make the impact that will turn us into a solid, consistent, top four team, when you consider the money that will be spent by most teams around us.
 
I get what you're saying about the back four and I agree we should strengthen wherever we can, but for me one of the reasons why the defence is underperforming is precisely that they lack the kind of protection in front of them that most other top 6 sides have. Each of them has played well at times, and my hope would be that a better midfield shield would help them raise their game both individually and as a unit. Of course it's true that no one position/player will get the whole job done, but some are more important than others (IMHO of course) and I'd still put DM at the top of that list.
 
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Thinking outside the box here... In rare situations could we not use Matip in DM dropping back as the third centre back in certain situations? I think he's played there a few times in the past and he seems to have the attributes to do a decent job (although he does seem to lack the agility to change direction quickly).
I'm pretty keen that we sign an additional high profile Centre back as neither Dejan or Matip appear to have the ability to stay fit for long periods (and Dejan is pretty average). Ideally we'd sign a Keita or the next Mascherano but with the success of Kante I imagine DM's will become fashionable again, pricing us out of most decent options.

A Suarez, Sanchez or Tevez type would dramatically improve the chance of us breaking down stubborn teams, potentially reducing the need for a DM. This season we've shown that we can control and dominate teams that try to attack us... we struggle against defensive teams on the counter. If we start destroying teams that sit deep the trend will change and we hopefully won't need to leave ourselves so open to try and create opportunities. Only Mane scares teams, Coutinho causes problems but every fullback in the league knows they have him for pace.

We have created our own problems over the past 5 years with our poor recruitment. A slow squad, heavy with central attacking midfielders lacking in height & bite.
 
That Brazilian lad - Thiago Maia, whom we were linked with towards the end of last year is boss tha in FM.
 
I'm Henderson's biggest fan, and I strongly believe that a fully fit Henderson who could play 95% of games a season would 100% be good enough for a team pushing for the title. However reality has really set in this season, this injury of his isn't a joke, it isn't going away, and it'll probably only get worse. It's like Sturridge all over again but worse, if we can't rely on him to start the majority of games we can't have a team built around him, we have to make other plans, and thats something that really really pains me to say.
 
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