So good he doesn’t need to tackle, just ask Virg!!
The search for a new DM
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I don't want Ambrabat - and as for being wrong - on a player - what proof do you really have ? - probably none. When we signed Torres - I was in disbelief because I never expected us to be able to get a player who at the time for me was a white version of R9, in terms of finishing, pace, and to a degree skill. To this day I still don't understand how we got him and why he decided to join us in a period dominated by the likes of United/Chelsea/Arsenal. I know we won the CL and FA Cup but we were still poor compared to the others. But I was surprised at the number of LFC fans at the time who were shocked at what he achieved with us, I expected that naturally as I saw him play in Spain regularly.
I think Sangare has enough to stop the rot for us and be enough cover to protect that defence. Right now we are apparently interested in that Decoure guy who has one season in the PL and previously played in France. It seems we are good to buy the players once we have proof of a season in the PL, but not willing to save some money by getting those same players before they come here now. The reason why I think Sangare has not been picked up before, is because DM's don't have a high turn-over in clubs. On the face of it, it's the shittiest position in a team in my view, but right now, there seems to be few experienced in the age range we want, but we look for value/risk and all that shit - we need £32M/£35M - for someone who maybe prime Fabinho for us, and has a connection with Gakpo.
Has Lavia gone to Chelsea or is Southampton waiting on Chelsea to match Liverpool's offer? The best CDM around that's available is Luis from Benfica - right age, physique and has passing accuracy. I was opposed to Gallagher but seeing in that DM role where he will be surplus to requirement could we not get him on loan?
He took time to get used to it, I never thought that Gallagher was a DM type - he was very good on his loan spell at Crystal Palace, and also for Chelsea last season - he was the only one that seemed to be trying last season but failing. I feel sorry for him, but our fans will never accept him as a solution - we just won't, even though I believe Klopp can make a great player out of him.
The problem I have with Luis - is that he has had two loan spells and not done that well apparently, so you have to question that. My mind is now firmly set on Sangare, and Foffana - I think they are players we can get and they can start.
Let’s leave the wibbling about Torres aside - it’s not relevant - Sangare is no Torres.
Florentino Luis has had some “work” done on his wiki page :
“He joined Monacoand Getafe on consecutive loans between 2020 and 2022. He returned to Benfica the following season and established himself as an integral player for the club. After this Steve Cooper told him about Hooters and he joined the famous reds to play at the City Ground.”
Good on him - does Liverpool have a Hooters?
Anyway - Sangare was just breaking through at Toulouse when Luis was on loan at Monaco - I think he got relegated with Toulouse before moving to PSV - so I wouldn’t say there’s anything conclusive there and there is a danger that Luis is a one season wonder - but he, crucially, IMO, is 2 years younger.
The argument is that Sangare is just about as good as he’ll get, while Luis has a few years yet
Fofana sits right between the 2 and probably is a better option having more experience than the other two - so he’s definitely someone that ticks a few boxes with less red flags than both.
There are 4 options really :
1. We spend big on the best quality DM that £100m will buy. Forget Chelsea’s fuckstickery - they were fleeced even in todays market. We likely will too but if he’s good enough, it’s not my money.
2. We compromise on quality and buy someone because we desperately need someone/anyone that may/may not work out and might be good or shit. It’s risky, but less costly, financially.
3. We stick with what we’ve got - which is pretty much nothing and will probably lead to the end of civilisation as we know it or possibly even collapse the universe in on itself. It’s really not the preferred option is what I’m trying to say.
4. We take the £100 and buy 4-5 of the best youngsters we can with that money - kids between the ages of 18-21 that have high talent ceilings that aren’t already in the EPL. Short term gain for potential long term success. Again risky and it’ll mean we likely drop out of the CL for a few years.
Luis, Fofana and possibly Doucoure & Gravenberch possibly fall into Option 1.
Sangare, Amrabat fall into Option 2 - there’s a lot of cross over here and plenty of other options (would Arsenal sell us Partey - would we want him even?)
Option 3 looks like a Badger with tits, an extra from the walking dead and/or numerous people who should be somewhere else on the pitch with a SCM meltdown to make the last few days look like a Champions League winning party. I stress again - not a good option.
Option 4 looks like one of Binny’s threads that’s become “a real boy”!!! Interesting, filled full of hope in people no-ones ever heard of, potentially a master stroke or potentially a shit Fest as big as Option 3, except played out over numerous years rather than 1.
I really don’t know where we’ll land - somewhere between 2 & 3 probably with likely the worst bits of both.
Gini was not altogether convincing at #6, was he? Could do a job there in a pinch, but far from a natural option. As for Gravenberch, I think the defensive side of his game is his biggest weakness at the moment - maybe in time he can dramatically improve this aspect like Gini did, but that’s probably several seasons away if it happens at all. At this point he is probably not what we need.
The Everton player?
On that note, there’s untapped potential in Onana.
We're not getting him until he's relegated
The Utd one?
Exploring Liverpool’s No 6 transfer options as time begins to run out
By Mark Carey
3h ago
58
It is the worst-kept secret in the Premier League — Liverpool need a defensive midfielder.
If it wasn’t obvious before the start of the season, it was certainly obvious after their first game of it on Sunday.
Liverpool’s 1-1 draw away to Chelsea saw 201 possessions in total — indicating how many times the ball changed hands between the teams, which reflects how frenetic the tempo of the match concerned is. That tally was only beaten by Manchester United’s 1-0 win over visitors Wolves on Monday across the opening round of 10 Premier League fixtures.
Put simply, Liverpool’s lack of control in the game was clear to see, with a composed, anchoring midfield presence desperately required.
Ahead of that trip to Stamford Bridge, manager Jurgen Klopp was honest about the business that needs to be done before the September 1 transfer deadline, but typically protective of his current squad.
“It’s not surprising we are looking for that position,” Klopp said. “It’s clear, and it would be great if we could do something, but for now we can do a lot of things. We can play a double six or double pivot as well and Stefan (Bajcetic) is coming back. He played that position exceptionally well so we have options; we have Curtis (Jones); we can adapt the system and have options.”
Putting the controversy, drama and disappointment of their failed pursuits of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia to one side for the time being, let’s keep things focused and look at the options that Liverpool could still move towards this summer.
After all, time is of the essence as they look to strike a deal for a defensive midfielder in the next 17 days.
Florentino Luis
Club: Benfica. Age: 23
We will start with a name that has cropped up on multiple occasions this summer — Florentino Luis.
The 23-year-old made 54 appearances in all competitions for Portuguese title winners Benfica last season, cementing himself as an integral member of the starting XI after struggling on loan at Spain’s Getafe the previous year.
Stylistically, Luis is very much in the peak-Fabinho mould — a destructive player who is happy to stick a foot in while being a key cog within his side’s build-up play in Roger Schmidt’s 4-2-3-1 system in Lisbon.
This is reflected in his smarterscout profile, which highlights how he is willing to roll his sleeves up out of possession (disrupting opposition moves rating: 89 out of 99) but also dictate the tempo of the game on the ball (link-up play volume: 97 out of 99).
Luis averaged 6.1 tackles and interceptions per game last season, which was the second-highest rate for players with over 900 minutes across Europe’s top seven leagues (the Premier League, La Liga in Spain, Italy’s Serie A, Ligue 1 in France, Germany’s Bundesliga, the Dutch Eredivisie and Portugal’s Primeira Liga) — and is even more impressive given Benfica averaged 63.2 per cent possession.
He wouldn’t be a cheap option with a contract running until 2027, but Liverpool have recent experience of striking a deal with Benfica, after buying Darwin Nunez from them last summer.
Sofyan Amrabat
Club: Fiorentina. Age: 26
Rave reviews have swirled around Sofyan Amrabat since his impressive World Cup campaign with Morocco last winter, where he showcased his resilience and tenacity to push his team as far as he could. Which happened to be the semi-finals.
Amrabat ran the furthest of any player (81.4km — just over 50 miles) during the tournament, despite needing painkilling injections to get through four of his seven starts.
While he had a strong defensive presence in the World Cup, Amrabat is not the most destructive midfield profile out of possession. Most notably, his strength lies in circulating the ball and controlling the tempo of a game. He is a high-volume passer, with his 9.7 long passes completed per game being the most among all Serie A midfielders last season — and he boasts a high long-pass accuracy (84.1 per cent).
This can be seen in his smarterscout profile, which shows Amrabat frequently distributes the ball side-to-side without progressing it forward (link-up play volume: 81 out of 99) while keeping possession for his team at a very high level.
At 26, Amrabat would be an option that Liverpool could stick straight into the starting XI — this is a player entering his peak years with experience at European and international levels.
With just a year left on his contract, he would also be available at a lower price than the eye-watering figures which have been paid for other defensive midfielders in the past 12 months.
Andre
Club: Fluminense. Age: 22
Liverpool have already made contact with Rio de Janeiro’s Fluminense over the potential move for 22-year-old Andre this summer, but following their failed attempts to get Caicedo and Lavia from Brighton and Southampton respectively, they might need to be a little more persuasive during their next phone call.
The Brazilian has been a regular in holding the fort in a generally fluid formation at Fluminense — as manager Fernando Diniz encourages his players to freely switch positions across the pitch as they see fit.
With the Brazilian Serie A season running from April to November, it is more reliable to look at Andre’s smarterscout profile for those games when he was used as a defensive midfielder last season — which shows him as a particularly busy performer out of possession, reading the game well by regularly hoovering up loose balls and blocking passes (ball recoveries and interceptions rating: 82 out of 99).
In possession, Andre is technically very strong — regularly acting as his side’s metronome to build through the thirds (link-up play volume: 93 out of 99), keeping the ball at an impressive rate (ball retention ability: 79 out of 99). Notably, he does not contribute strongly to his side’s attack but does progress them forward with his relentless ball-carrying to evade pressure and drag his team upfield (carry and dribble volume: 93 out of 99).
Of course, a direct move from the Brazilian top flight to the Premier League is a path less trodden, with expectations likely needing to be tempered slightly when considering the adaptation required for a relatively young player (he only turned 22 a month ago) with no experience of European football.
And at just 5ft 7in (170cm), Andre’s physical attributes may not be suited to such a demanding competition.
Cheick Doucoure
Club: Crystal Palace. Age: 23
Cheick Doucoure has attracted interest from Liverpool this summer, having had a successful 2022-23 debut Premier League season with Crystal Palace.
As shown by his smarterscout ratings last season, Doucoure was particularly strong at breaking up play with a high volume of ball recoveries and interceptions (63 out of 99), while he would often look to get tight to his man by pressing aggressively to make a challenge (defending intensity: 63 out of 99).
In possession, Doucoure was tasked with getting the ball forward quickly (progressive passing: 63 out of 99), but the big question mark surrounds his ball retention ability (34 out of 99) — most likely as a consequence of playing in a low-possession Palace side where he is less likely to play short, intricate passes (link-up play volume: 21 out of 99).
What does the data say?
While the likes of Leeds United’s Tyler Adams, Joao Palhinha at Fulham and Aston Villa’s Boubacar Kamara should not be ruled out as potential options, a data-led approach can help to uncover some lesser-discussed options for Klopp and company before the transfer window shuts.
GO DEEPER
Liverpool's No 6 hunt: Lavia, Amrabat, Phillips, Luis and more analysed
Helpfully, Liverpool have shown their workings in their pursuit of Caicedo as the model defensive midfielder they crave, so let’s unpack his traits to see which players profiled similarly to the Ecuadorian last season.
To create this short-list, we first looked at players aged 26 or below at the start of this season who played 900-plus minutes as a defensive midfielder in 2022-23. We can then run a similarity analysis to find players who rated comparably for on-ball actions such as link-up play volume, ball progression and ball retention, using smarterscout’s metrics.
We can also look at off-ball actions for players who had a similar volume of ball recoveries and interceptions, plus tackles and clearances, per minute out of possession — alongside their aggression off the ball, using metrics such as defending intensity.
Encouragingly, the likes of Amrabat and Aurelien Tchouameni profile similarly to Caicedo, as they are known to be players that Liverpool admire — as well as their recent signing Alexis Mac Allister during his final season alongside Caicedo at Brighton.
But who else could be of interest?
As the player most statistically similar to Caicedo, Nicolo Rovella performed well on loan at Monza from Juventus but the 21-year-old is now joining Lazio as he continues his career’s upward trajectory.
Lyon’s Johann Lepenant, 20, could be a viable long-term option, with the France Under-21 international an old-fashioned pest out of possession.
Having joined from fellow French side Caen last summer, Lepenant quickly established himself as the key anchor in Laurent Blanc’s midfield. That role has combined his active defensive work (disrupting opposition moves: 88 out of 99) and recognising danger well (ball recoveries and interceptions: 93 out of 99), while also being strong technically in his distribution (link-up play volume: 93 out of 99).
Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen’s Exequiel Palacios had a particularly strong season in Germany, during which he was part of Argentina’s World Cup-winning squad with Mac Allister.
Palacios’s strengths lie very much in his defensive awareness. He will often look to get tight to his man to make a challenge (defending intensity: 88 out of 99), with his five tackles plus interceptions per 90 minutes placing him in the top five per cent of all Bundesliga midfielders. Crucially, the 24-year-old is very strong in the success of such actions, preventing the opposition from progressing further upfield (defending impact: 75 out of 99).
Leverkusen managing director for sport Simon Rolfes has firmly stated that Palacios will definitely stay in Germany ahead of the new season, which begins on Friday, but with the transfer market the way it is, you cannot rule anything out.
Lens’ Salis Abdul Samed and Hugo Guillamon of Valencia, both 23, also catch the eye among the names on our data shortlist, while Monaco’s 24-year-old Youssouf Fofana would be an interesting player to consider as a young, destructive midfielder with European-competition experience.
Liverpool are running out of time to land someone who can fulfil the demands of Klopp’s “Liverpool FC reloaded”, with their position made weaker by their public pursuits of Caicedo and Lavia. Players approached now will know they were not the first — or even second — option on Klopp’s own list, and that they are being targeted because Liverpool cannot match the financial clout of some of their Premier League rivals.
Of course, whoever does come in will predominantly fulfil a disciplined role as an anchoring midfielder in the style of Fabinho — shuffling across in possession to allow Trent Alexander-Arnold to invert, forming a double pivot in Liverpool’s new-found 3-box-3 system.
However, questions remain over Liverpool’s vulnerability out of possession, with warning signs continuing to arise during the Chelsea game, as they did during pre-season — against Leicester City and Bayern Munich in particular.
Specifically, the transition from their in-possession shape (3-box-3) to out-of-possession shape (4-3-3) has been too slow on occasion, and left them vulnerable to the counter-attack as their midfield gets bypassed with a simple ball in behind their high line — an issue that plagued them for much of last season.
Liverpool’s attack is one of the strongest in the league with Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, Nunez, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota all having a strong case to be in the starting XI. However, the work that each Liverpool forward must undertake off the ball is crucial to Klopp’s style — saving their colleagues in midfield and defence from getting exposed in transitional moments.
Some additional midfield bite is much needed, but a new No 6 alone will not solve the issues of last season. The output of the players ahead of whoever they end up signing will determine how much he is able to assimilate into Klopp’s way of playing.
Either way, the next fortnight will be crucial in determining Liverpool’s season.
By Mark Carey
3h ago
58
It is the worst-kept secret in the Premier League — Liverpool need a defensive midfielder.
If it wasn’t obvious before the start of the season, it was certainly obvious after their first game of it on Sunday.
Liverpool’s 1-1 draw away to Chelsea saw 201 possessions in total — indicating how many times the ball changed hands between the teams, which reflects how frenetic the tempo of the match concerned is. That tally was only beaten by Manchester United’s 1-0 win over visitors Wolves on Monday across the opening round of 10 Premier League fixtures.
Put simply, Liverpool’s lack of control in the game was clear to see, with a composed, anchoring midfield presence desperately required.
Ahead of that trip to Stamford Bridge, manager Jurgen Klopp was honest about the business that needs to be done before the September 1 transfer deadline, but typically protective of his current squad.
“It’s not surprising we are looking for that position,” Klopp said. “It’s clear, and it would be great if we could do something, but for now we can do a lot of things. We can play a double six or double pivot as well and Stefan (Bajcetic) is coming back. He played that position exceptionally well so we have options; we have Curtis (Jones); we can adapt the system and have options.”
Putting the controversy, drama and disappointment of their failed pursuits of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia to one side for the time being, let’s keep things focused and look at the options that Liverpool could still move towards this summer.
After all, time is of the essence as they look to strike a deal for a defensive midfielder in the next 17 days.
Florentino Luis
Club: Benfica. Age: 23
We will start with a name that has cropped up on multiple occasions this summer — Florentino Luis.
The 23-year-old made 54 appearances in all competitions for Portuguese title winners Benfica last season, cementing himself as an integral member of the starting XI after struggling on loan at Spain’s Getafe the previous year.
Stylistically, Luis is very much in the peak-Fabinho mould — a destructive player who is happy to stick a foot in while being a key cog within his side’s build-up play in Roger Schmidt’s 4-2-3-1 system in Lisbon.
This is reflected in his smarterscout profile, which highlights how he is willing to roll his sleeves up out of possession (disrupting opposition moves rating: 89 out of 99) but also dictate the tempo of the game on the ball (link-up play volume: 97 out of 99).
Luis averaged 6.1 tackles and interceptions per game last season, which was the second-highest rate for players with over 900 minutes across Europe’s top seven leagues (the Premier League, La Liga in Spain, Italy’s Serie A, Ligue 1 in France, Germany’s Bundesliga, the Dutch Eredivisie and Portugal’s Primeira Liga) — and is even more impressive given Benfica averaged 63.2 per cent possession.
He wouldn’t be a cheap option with a contract running until 2027, but Liverpool have recent experience of striking a deal with Benfica, after buying Darwin Nunez from them last summer.
Sofyan Amrabat
Club: Fiorentina. Age: 26
Rave reviews have swirled around Sofyan Amrabat since his impressive World Cup campaign with Morocco last winter, where he showcased his resilience and tenacity to push his team as far as he could. Which happened to be the semi-finals.
Amrabat ran the furthest of any player (81.4km — just over 50 miles) during the tournament, despite needing painkilling injections to get through four of his seven starts.
While he had a strong defensive presence in the World Cup, Amrabat is not the most destructive midfield profile out of possession. Most notably, his strength lies in circulating the ball and controlling the tempo of a game. He is a high-volume passer, with his 9.7 long passes completed per game being the most among all Serie A midfielders last season — and he boasts a high long-pass accuracy (84.1 per cent).
This can be seen in his smarterscout profile, which shows Amrabat frequently distributes the ball side-to-side without progressing it forward (link-up play volume: 81 out of 99) while keeping possession for his team at a very high level.
At 26, Amrabat would be an option that Liverpool could stick straight into the starting XI — this is a player entering his peak years with experience at European and international levels.
With just a year left on his contract, he would also be available at a lower price than the eye-watering figures which have been paid for other defensive midfielders in the past 12 months.
Andre
Club: Fluminense. Age: 22
Liverpool have already made contact with Rio de Janeiro’s Fluminense over the potential move for 22-year-old Andre this summer, but following their failed attempts to get Caicedo and Lavia from Brighton and Southampton respectively, they might need to be a little more persuasive during their next phone call.
The Brazilian has been a regular in holding the fort in a generally fluid formation at Fluminense — as manager Fernando Diniz encourages his players to freely switch positions across the pitch as they see fit.
With the Brazilian Serie A season running from April to November, it is more reliable to look at Andre’s smarterscout profile for those games when he was used as a defensive midfielder last season — which shows him as a particularly busy performer out of possession, reading the game well by regularly hoovering up loose balls and blocking passes (ball recoveries and interceptions rating: 82 out of 99).
In possession, Andre is technically very strong — regularly acting as his side’s metronome to build through the thirds (link-up play volume: 93 out of 99), keeping the ball at an impressive rate (ball retention ability: 79 out of 99). Notably, he does not contribute strongly to his side’s attack but does progress them forward with his relentless ball-carrying to evade pressure and drag his team upfield (carry and dribble volume: 93 out of 99).
Of course, a direct move from the Brazilian top flight to the Premier League is a path less trodden, with expectations likely needing to be tempered slightly when considering the adaptation required for a relatively young player (he only turned 22 a month ago) with no experience of European football.
And at just 5ft 7in (170cm), Andre’s physical attributes may not be suited to such a demanding competition.
Cheick Doucoure
Club: Crystal Palace. Age: 23
Cheick Doucoure has attracted interest from Liverpool this summer, having had a successful 2022-23 debut Premier League season with Crystal Palace.
As shown by his smarterscout ratings last season, Doucoure was particularly strong at breaking up play with a high volume of ball recoveries and interceptions (63 out of 99), while he would often look to get tight to his man by pressing aggressively to make a challenge (defending intensity: 63 out of 99).
In possession, Doucoure was tasked with getting the ball forward quickly (progressive passing: 63 out of 99), but the big question mark surrounds his ball retention ability (34 out of 99) — most likely as a consequence of playing in a low-possession Palace side where he is less likely to play short, intricate passes (link-up play volume: 21 out of 99).
What does the data say?
While the likes of Leeds United’s Tyler Adams, Joao Palhinha at Fulham and Aston Villa’s Boubacar Kamara should not be ruled out as potential options, a data-led approach can help to uncover some lesser-discussed options for Klopp and company before the transfer window shuts.
GO DEEPER
Liverpool's No 6 hunt: Lavia, Amrabat, Phillips, Luis and more analysed
Helpfully, Liverpool have shown their workings in their pursuit of Caicedo as the model defensive midfielder they crave, so let’s unpack his traits to see which players profiled similarly to the Ecuadorian last season.
To create this short-list, we first looked at players aged 26 or below at the start of this season who played 900-plus minutes as a defensive midfielder in 2022-23. We can then run a similarity analysis to find players who rated comparably for on-ball actions such as link-up play volume, ball progression and ball retention, using smarterscout’s metrics.
We can also look at off-ball actions for players who had a similar volume of ball recoveries and interceptions, plus tackles and clearances, per minute out of possession — alongside their aggression off the ball, using metrics such as defending intensity.
Encouragingly, the likes of Amrabat and Aurelien Tchouameni profile similarly to Caicedo, as they are known to be players that Liverpool admire — as well as their recent signing Alexis Mac Allister during his final season alongside Caicedo at Brighton.
But who else could be of interest?
As the player most statistically similar to Caicedo, Nicolo Rovella performed well on loan at Monza from Juventus but the 21-year-old is now joining Lazio as he continues his career’s upward trajectory.
Lyon’s Johann Lepenant, 20, could be a viable long-term option, with the France Under-21 international an old-fashioned pest out of possession.
Having joined from fellow French side Caen last summer, Lepenant quickly established himself as the key anchor in Laurent Blanc’s midfield. That role has combined his active defensive work (disrupting opposition moves: 88 out of 99) and recognising danger well (ball recoveries and interceptions: 93 out of 99), while also being strong technically in his distribution (link-up play volume: 93 out of 99).
Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen’s Exequiel Palacios had a particularly strong season in Germany, during which he was part of Argentina’s World Cup-winning squad with Mac Allister.
Palacios’s strengths lie very much in his defensive awareness. He will often look to get tight to his man to make a challenge (defending intensity: 88 out of 99), with his five tackles plus interceptions per 90 minutes placing him in the top five per cent of all Bundesliga midfielders. Crucially, the 24-year-old is very strong in the success of such actions, preventing the opposition from progressing further upfield (defending impact: 75 out of 99).
Leverkusen managing director for sport Simon Rolfes has firmly stated that Palacios will definitely stay in Germany ahead of the new season, which begins on Friday, but with the transfer market the way it is, you cannot rule anything out.
Lens’ Salis Abdul Samed and Hugo Guillamon of Valencia, both 23, also catch the eye among the names on our data shortlist, while Monaco’s 24-year-old Youssouf Fofana would be an interesting player to consider as a young, destructive midfielder with European-competition experience.
Liverpool are running out of time to land someone who can fulfil the demands of Klopp’s “Liverpool FC reloaded”, with their position made weaker by their public pursuits of Caicedo and Lavia. Players approached now will know they were not the first — or even second — option on Klopp’s own list, and that they are being targeted because Liverpool cannot match the financial clout of some of their Premier League rivals.
Of course, whoever does come in will predominantly fulfil a disciplined role as an anchoring midfielder in the style of Fabinho — shuffling across in possession to allow Trent Alexander-Arnold to invert, forming a double pivot in Liverpool’s new-found 3-box-3 system.
However, questions remain over Liverpool’s vulnerability out of possession, with warning signs continuing to arise during the Chelsea game, as they did during pre-season — against Leicester City and Bayern Munich in particular.
Specifically, the transition from their in-possession shape (3-box-3) to out-of-possession shape (4-3-3) has been too slow on occasion, and left them vulnerable to the counter-attack as their midfield gets bypassed with a simple ball in behind their high line — an issue that plagued them for much of last season.
Liverpool’s attack is one of the strongest in the league with Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, Nunez, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota all having a strong case to be in the starting XI. However, the work that each Liverpool forward must undertake off the ball is crucial to Klopp’s style — saving their colleagues in midfield and defence from getting exposed in transitional moments.
Some additional midfield bite is much needed, but a new No 6 alone will not solve the issues of last season. The output of the players ahead of whoever they end up signing will determine how much he is able to assimilate into Klopp’s way of playing.
Either way, the next fortnight will be crucial in determining Liverpool’s season.
Absolutely not. But the one from Palace.
Wait till the journos find out an AI bot can do it in less than 10 seconds.
Exploring Liverpool’s No 6 transfer options as time begins to run out
By Mark Carey
3h ago
58
It is the worst-kept secret in the Premier League — Liverpool need a defensive midfielder.
If it wasn’t obvious before the start of the season, it was certainly obvious after their first game of it on Sunday.
Liverpool’s 1-1 draw away to Chelsea saw 201 possessions in total — indicating how many times the ball changed hands between the teams, which reflects how frenetic the tempo of the match concerned is. That tally was only beaten by Manchester United’s 1-0 win over visitors Wolves on Monday across the opening round of 10 Premier League fixtures.
Put simply, Liverpool’s lack of control in the game was clear to see, with a composed, anchoring midfield presence desperately required.
Ahead of that trip to Stamford Bridge, manager Jurgen Klopp was honest about the business that needs to be done before the September 1 transfer deadline, but typically protective of his current squad.
“It’s not surprising we are looking for that position,” Klopp said. “It’s clear, and it would be great if we could do something, but for now we can do a lot of things. We can play a double six or double pivot as well and Stefan (Bajcetic) is coming back. He played that position exceptionally well so we have options; we have Curtis (Jones); we can adapt the system and have options.”
Putting the controversy, drama and disappointment of their failed pursuits of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia to one side for the time being, let’s keep things focused and look at the options that Liverpool could still move towards this summer.
After all, time is of the essence as they look to strike a deal for a defensive midfielder in the next 17 days.
Florentino Luis
Club: Benfica. Age: 23
We will start with a name that has cropped up on multiple occasions this summer — Florentino Luis.
The 23-year-old made 54 appearances in all competitions for Portuguese title winners Benfica last season, cementing himself as an integral member of the starting XI after struggling on loan at Spain’s Getafe the previous year.
Stylistically, Luis is very much in the peak-Fabinho mould — a destructive player who is happy to stick a foot in while being a key cog within his side’s build-up play in Roger Schmidt’s 4-2-3-1 system in Lisbon.
This is reflected in his smarterscout profile, which highlights how he is willing to roll his sleeves up out of possession (disrupting opposition moves rating: 89 out of 99) but also dictate the tempo of the game on the ball (link-up play volume: 97 out of 99).
Luis averaged 6.1 tackles and interceptions per game last season, which was the second-highest rate for players with over 900 minutes across Europe’s top seven leagues (the Premier League, La Liga in Spain, Italy’s Serie A, Ligue 1 in France, Germany’s Bundesliga, the Dutch Eredivisie and Portugal’s Primeira Liga) — and is even more impressive given Benfica averaged 63.2 per cent possession.
He wouldn’t be a cheap option with a contract running until 2027, but Liverpool have recent experience of striking a deal with Benfica, after buying Darwin Nunez from them last summer.
Sofyan Amrabat
Club: Fiorentina. Age: 26
Rave reviews have swirled around Sofyan Amrabat since his impressive World Cup campaign with Morocco last winter, where he showcased his resilience and tenacity to push his team as far as he could. Which happened to be the semi-finals.
Amrabat ran the furthest of any player (81.4km — just over 50 miles) during the tournament, despite needing painkilling injections to get through four of his seven starts.
While he had a strong defensive presence in the World Cup, Amrabat is not the most destructive midfield profile out of possession. Most notably, his strength lies in circulating the ball and controlling the tempo of a game. He is a high-volume passer, with his 9.7 long passes completed per game being the most among all Serie A midfielders last season — and he boasts a high long-pass accuracy (84.1 per cent).
This can be seen in his smarterscout profile, which shows Amrabat frequently distributes the ball side-to-side without progressing it forward (link-up play volume: 81 out of 99) while keeping possession for his team at a very high level.
At 26, Amrabat would be an option that Liverpool could stick straight into the starting XI — this is a player entering his peak years with experience at European and international levels.
With just a year left on his contract, he would also be available at a lower price than the eye-watering figures which have been paid for other defensive midfielders in the past 12 months.
Andre
Club: Fluminense. Age: 22
Liverpool have already made contact with Rio de Janeiro’s Fluminense over the potential move for 22-year-old Andre this summer, but following their failed attempts to get Caicedo and Lavia from Brighton and Southampton respectively, they might need to be a little more persuasive during their next phone call.
The Brazilian has been a regular in holding the fort in a generally fluid formation at Fluminense — as manager Fernando Diniz encourages his players to freely switch positions across the pitch as they see fit.
With the Brazilian Serie A season running from April to November, it is more reliable to look at Andre’s smarterscout profile for those games when he was used as a defensive midfielder last season — which shows him as a particularly busy performer out of possession, reading the game well by regularly hoovering up loose balls and blocking passes (ball recoveries and interceptions rating: 82 out of 99).
In possession, Andre is technically very strong — regularly acting as his side’s metronome to build through the thirds (link-up play volume: 93 out of 99), keeping the ball at an impressive rate (ball retention ability: 79 out of 99). Notably, he does not contribute strongly to his side’s attack but does progress them forward with his relentless ball-carrying to evade pressure and drag his team upfield (carry and dribble volume: 93 out of 99).
Of course, a direct move from the Brazilian top flight to the Premier League is a path less trodden, with expectations likely needing to be tempered slightly when considering the adaptation required for a relatively young player (he only turned 22 a month ago) with no experience of European football.
And at just 5ft 7in (170cm), Andre’s physical attributes may not be suited to such a demanding competition.
Cheick Doucoure
Club: Crystal Palace. Age: 23
Cheick Doucoure has attracted interest from Liverpool this summer, having had a successful 2022-23 debut Premier League season with Crystal Palace.
As shown by his smarterscout ratings last season, Doucoure was particularly strong at breaking up play with a high volume of ball recoveries and interceptions (63 out of 99), while he would often look to get tight to his man by pressing aggressively to make a challenge (defending intensity: 63 out of 99).
In possession, Doucoure was tasked with getting the ball forward quickly (progressive passing: 63 out of 99), but the big question mark surrounds his ball retention ability (34 out of 99) — most likely as a consequence of playing in a low-possession Palace side where he is less likely to play short, intricate passes (link-up play volume: 21 out of 99).
What does the data say?
While the likes of Leeds United’s Tyler Adams, Joao Palhinha at Fulham and Aston Villa’s Boubacar Kamara should not be ruled out as potential options, a data-led approach can help to uncover some lesser-discussed options for Klopp and company before the transfer window shuts.
GO DEEPER
Liverpool's No 6 hunt: Lavia, Amrabat, Phillips, Luis and more analysed
Helpfully, Liverpool have shown their workings in their pursuit of Caicedo as the model defensive midfielder they crave, so let’s unpack his traits to see which players profiled similarly to the Ecuadorian last season.
To create this short-list, we first looked at players aged 26 or below at the start of this season who played 900-plus minutes as a defensive midfielder in 2022-23. We can then run a similarity analysis to find players who rated comparably for on-ball actions such as link-up play volume, ball progression and ball retention, using smarterscout’s metrics.
We can also look at off-ball actions for players who had a similar volume of ball recoveries and interceptions, plus tackles and clearances, per minute out of possession — alongside their aggression off the ball, using metrics such as defending intensity.
Encouragingly, the likes of Amrabat and Aurelien Tchouameni profile similarly to Caicedo, as they are known to be players that Liverpool admire — as well as their recent signing Alexis Mac Allister during his final season alongside Caicedo at Brighton.
But who else could be of interest?
As the player most statistically similar to Caicedo, Nicolo Rovella performed well on loan at Monza from Juventus but the 21-year-old is now joining Lazio as he continues his career’s upward trajectory.
Lyon’s Johann Lepenant, 20, could be a viable long-term option, with the France Under-21 international an old-fashioned pest out of possession.
Having joined from fellow French side Caen last summer, Lepenant quickly established himself as the key anchor in Laurent Blanc’s midfield. That role has combined his active defensive work (disrupting opposition moves: 88 out of 99) and recognising danger well (ball recoveries and interceptions: 93 out of 99), while also being strong technically in his distribution (link-up play volume: 93 out of 99).
Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen’s Exequiel Palacios had a particularly strong season in Germany, during which he was part of Argentina’s World Cup-winning squad with Mac Allister.
Palacios’s strengths lie very much in his defensive awareness. He will often look to get tight to his man to make a challenge (defending intensity: 88 out of 99), with his five tackles plus interceptions per 90 minutes placing him in the top five per cent of all Bundesliga midfielders. Crucially, the 24-year-old is very strong in the success of such actions, preventing the opposition from progressing further upfield (defending impact: 75 out of 99).
Leverkusen managing director for sport Simon Rolfes has firmly stated that Palacios will definitely stay in Germany ahead of the new season, which begins on Friday, but with the transfer market the way it is, you cannot rule anything out.
Lens’ Salis Abdul Samed and Hugo Guillamon of Valencia, both 23, also catch the eye among the names on our data shortlist, while Monaco’s 24-year-old Youssouf Fofana would be an interesting player to consider as a young, destructive midfielder with European-competition experience.
Liverpool are running out of time to land someone who can fulfil the demands of Klopp’s “Liverpool FC reloaded”, with their position made weaker by their public pursuits of Caicedo and Lavia. Players approached now will know they were not the first — or even second — option on Klopp’s own list, and that they are being targeted because Liverpool cannot match the financial clout of some of their Premier League rivals.
Of course, whoever does come in will predominantly fulfil a disciplined role as an anchoring midfielder in the style of Fabinho — shuffling across in possession to allow Trent Alexander-Arnold to invert, forming a double pivot in Liverpool’s new-found 3-box-3 system.
However, questions remain over Liverpool’s vulnerability out of possession, with warning signs continuing to arise during the Chelsea game, as they did during pre-season — against Leicester City and Bayern Munich in particular.
Specifically, the transition from their in-possession shape (3-box-3) to out-of-possession shape (4-3-3) has been too slow on occasion, and left them vulnerable to the counter-attack as their midfield gets bypassed with a simple ball in behind their high line — an issue that plagued them for much of last season.
Liverpool’s attack is one of the strongest in the league with Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, Nunez, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota all having a strong case to be in the starting XI. However, the work that each Liverpool forward must undertake off the ball is crucial to Klopp’s style — saving their colleagues in midfield and defence from getting exposed in transitional moments.
Some additional midfield bite is much needed, but a new No 6 alone will not solve the issues of last season. The output of the players ahead of whoever they end up signing will determine how much he is able to assimilate into Klopp’s way of playing.
Either way, the next fortnight will be crucial in determining Liverpool’s season.
We need to sign Johann Lepenant immediately.
Then we can nickname him “Jermaine” and he can play alongside Gary.
Based on absolutely nothing, this Luis guy seems the logical choice, with us then bringing in Dr Dre in January to eventually deputise for and then replace Thiago when he leaves next year. If we do that (and address the CB issue), we'll have righted this transfer window that started so well, but has gone to shit in the last month.
That's surely not an issue. We won't be buying more than 2 players this Summer and Adrian, Thiago, Matip and maybe Mo will be gone next Summer if not in January.
[article]Doucoure’s final price could come in at under £50 million, although Palace are wary of losing too many players this summer.
The Malian midfielder is understood to be keen to move to Anfield, and personal terms would not be an issue.
Liverpool are also looking at Fulham's Joao Paulinha and Nice's Khephren Thuram but the 23-year-old Doucoure is seen as a more viable option to do right now.[/article]
It’s a game of probabilities, isn’t it?
I can see the attraction of Lavia (homegrown and U21) and Caicedo.
I actually like your post, very well detailed and helps to compartmentalize the discussion and your options:
- Sangare - From what I read I thought Sangare was actually one of the best midfielders in France even though that team got relegated (kind a like the Lavia of his time I guess). I do see the signing as a risk, but at that price don't you think it's worth it and also given he has a release clause from all the reports, its the easiest one for our incompetent team to maybe do and guarantee that we have a body in DM with experience plus knows one of our best players in Gakpo.
- Fofana - 100% agree on this, and I think he is the type of player Klopp could make into something even better, plus we have Konate to talk him through in French if he don't speak English. I really like the look of him from the clips I have seen - looks solid.
- Gravenberch - I thought he was ok in the U21 - but is he a DM though ? - what we need right now is a 100% DM with immediate affect. Is he really going to fit in with us - I don't know about players from Ajax coming straight to us (I say straight because he has hardly played any time worthy of note at Bayern). I would put him in Option 2.
- Luis and Dacoure - too expensive, anything north of £40M - you really want them to be a good passer of the ball don't you ? - from what I have read Dacoure is a bit shit at passing. Luis - those loan spells, did he do well ? did he fit in ? - or is he only comfortable playing in his own league ?
Oh and your point 3 - if we sign no-one - I will actually laugh my head off and think that Klopp actually wants to leave. We saw before our own eyes last season how both Fabinho/Henderson became cones in front of our defence, and then if we take that forward into this season - our solution is to get rid of about 5 CM's including those cone imitators and replace them with nothing. I know that they were the problem last season but does Klopp actually think getting rid of the problem and not getting a solution in - is the way to go about it ?
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