Jurgen Klopp may be looking to bolster his line of defense after Virgil van Dyck lost due to injury and the rumor mill is already rolling out a number of names
If Liverpool weren’t looking for a new center back in January, then he might be fine now
The Reds entered the season with three senior defenders, Virgil Van Dyck, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez, with Fabinho in case of emergency.
They’ve all been injured this season, and Van Dijk will likely miss the vast majority of the season after suffering an injury in the AFC Champions League in the Merseyside Derby
And the news that Gomez could face a period of time on the sidelines after suffering an injury in the England mission may have sped up Liverpool’s plans to buy a new senior defender.
Turkish international center-back Schalke Ouzan Kabak is one of those names, but reports that Liverpool have opened talks about a £ 20m transfer deal have been met with some confusion at the club.
If a deal is finalized, Kabak will represent a fourth team in only three seasons, having already also played for Galatasaray and Stuttgart despite being only 20 years old.
Schalke really struggled during his time with them, so it’s hard to get a good read on what kind of player his stats have had to do in defense a lot more than the Reds usually have to do
But he has the vital characteristic that he is strong in the air. It’s an area Liverpool would have been expected to face in the absence of Van Dijk, as the Dutchman is the antenna master in the Premier League.
Get the latest updates on Joe Gomez’s injury, plus breaking news and analysis of what’s coming for the Reds
You’ll also get the latest conversion talks and analytics straight to your inbox every day with our free email newsletter
Kazak scored the ninth best air fencing wins in the German Bundesliga last season (via FBRef) and is already the second in the early days of 2020/21
The smarterscout player analysis website also notes that his performance last season was statistically more similar to Diego Godin’s efforts at Inter Milan. There aren’t many better defenders to compare with
However, there are other defenders who have been associated with Liverpool in the past and are also good options for life at Anfield
One such player is Ben White from Brighton. He made his name with Leeds United in the tournament, playing every minute of their campaign to win the title last season.
The Reds have followed it widely last season, but the high price could cause Liverpool to avoid making a bid in the near future.
It’s also interesting to note that in the air it tends to suffer.
No issues with other aspects of his game at the time of writing, he had the best success rate for pressing 16 first-division subscribers (per FBRef), and also topped the Intercept Championship last season despite Marcelo Bielsa’s team dominating possession in most Weeks
If Liverpool want to have the best of both worlds – and because they have built their success on a remarkable transfer success rate, then it is clear they will – then Dayot Obikano has to be the man of their choice.
RB Leipzig’s center back has more league experience than Kazak or White, playing regularly in the UEFA Champions League, the French international also has the air ability for the former with the expectation of the latter
Upamecano won 811 percent of his air duels in 2018/19 (per FBRef) which was the second best in the Bundesliga that year, and even leads Van Dijk’s best season by a narrow margin as well despite his downturn in this region, he lost He won more than two-thirds of his header shots since the start of last season
And in the 2019/20 season he was also among the best defenders on the continent because of successful pressure, dribbling and passing to the last third. He can defend well, and help his team push the ball to the top of the pitch, and he must be the man of this trio that Liverpool is targeting as a heart player. Next Defense
Liverpool FC, Joe Gomez, England national football team, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jürgen Klopp, Virgil van Dijk, Premier League
World News – GB – Dayot Upamecano must be a goal The main transfers to Liverpool
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
