Liverpool have been fairly the busy customers this summer season. However then we knew this might be the case, with Arne Slot having established himself as Jurgen Klopp’s successor with minimal funding final season, solely signing Juventus’ Federico Chiesa for a £12.5m payment.
Chiesa’s first Premier League begin got here in opposition to Brighton & Hove Albion in Could. It was the penultimate sport of the season, and he lasted solely an hour.
Now, the Italian ahead, wracked by accidents and consequent struggles for kind and fluency final yr, is ready to go away. It is a unhappy factor, since he is gifted and fashionable each within the dressing room and with the fanbase, however the 27-year-old should act properly, following his profession ambitions.
Mohamed Salah, then, will proceed to dominate on the best flank, however Jeremie Frimpong provides depth and Ben Doak could too, though the younger Scot has been linked with a transfer away after his mortgage spell with Middlesbrough final time period.
Chiesa may play centrally, however with Liverpool now on the point of finalising the signing of Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike, there’s trigger for optimism, all proper.
Liverpool seal deal for Hugo Ekitike
All that is still is the official announcement. Liverpool have gotten their man. Ekitike is thought to be one of the vital gifted younger strikers on the planet and may lead the Anfield line for a few years to return.
Whereas Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak was (nonetheless is?) the membership’s high goal at quantity 9, the Magpies are searching for one thing vital, within the £130m ballpark, to half methods with their talisman.
Ekitike is undeveloped, however there’s a lot to love. With silky and speedy operating, combining with an instinctive sharpness, he has been likened by data-driven web site FBref as one in every of Isak’s most comparable gamers.
It is a incredible deal, and no mistake. Nevertheless, Liverpool aren’t carried out but, and they’re getting ready to make their transfer for what might show to be an excellent higher signing.
Liverpool put together bid for Premier League star
As per Soccer Insider, Liverpool are getting ready to make their transfer for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi.
Prevailing curiosity from Actual Madrid in Ibrahima Konate, who has entered the ultimate yr of his contract, is assumed to have raised the urgency for sporting director Richard Hughes.
The report states that the Premier League champions are trying more and more more likely to make a £45m provide for the England worldwide this summer season.
Guehi, 25, can be only one yr away from free company, and with no plans to increase his keep at Selhurst Park, Liverpool will probably be assured that they will get a deal carried out this summer season.
How Marc Guehi might enhance Liverpool
Liverpool know that shedding Konate could be a blow. It might be a bitter capsule to swallow, for the Frenchman is likely one of the greatest defenders on the planet.
However so is Guehi; many simply do not know it but. Though saying that, he isn’t unaccomplished. Hailed as “England’s greatest centre-back” by one analyst, the Three Lions star did captain Palace to final yr’s FA Cup title, beating Manchester Metropolis within the remaining.
Whereas signing a striker reminiscent of Ekitike marks necessary enterprise for the Reds, it’d really be that Guehi would mark higher enterprise, for, whatever the end result of Konate’s scenario, Liverpool have spent frugally on their central defence lately.
With Jarell Quansah having been offered to Bayer Leverkusen for £35m, you may even say that touchdown a participant like Guehi is a necessity, particularly when contemplating the cut-price payment that he’s obtainable for.
Contemplating that Tottenham Hotspur tried to prise him away from south London solely in January, providing a £70m payment, this might go down as a blinder.
Did Newcastle United not fail with 4 presents one yr in the past, the final of which totalled £65m? Circumstances dictate monetary parameters in soccer, however this might undoubtedly show a incredible deal for Liverpool, snapping up a defender approaching the prime of their profession for a shrewd determine.
Described as a “monster in defence” by reporter Bobby Manzi, Guehi is the actual deal, having come into his personal final yr. Definitely, his full and commanding Premier League performances counsel he has what it takes to thrive at Liverpool as they chase down one other title.
Marc Guehi within the Premier League (24/25) |
|
---|---|
Stats (* per sport) |
# |
Matches (begins) |
34 (34) |
Objectives |
3 |
Assists |
2 |
Clear sheets |
11 |
Touches* |
64.9 |
Go completion |
84% |
Key passes* |
0.5 |
Dribbles* |
0.4 |
Ball recoveries* |
4.3 |
Tackles + interceptions* |
2.6 |
Clearances* |
4.6 |
Duels (received)* |
4.9 (59%) |
Errors made |
2 |
Knowledge through Sofascore |
And never simply any defender. Whereas Ekitike is a gifted and up-and-coming sensation, Guehi is already there, and he is confirmed within the Premier League in addition to, which is a giant factor. Lengthy is the listing of prospects alighting in England’s high flight with a weight of expectation solely to fall flat.
We’re not advocating for Ekitike’s demise; removed from it. Expertise scout Jacek Kulig claims that the Frenchman “might undoubtedly attain world-class striker ranges”, and that is actually the imaginative and prescient of FSG and Slot.
Nevertheless, this hopefully sheds some mild on the masterful deal that Hughes and co might pull off by signing Guehi, who, having featured prominently for England and within the Premier League, might play a starring function in Slot’s machinations, seeking to dominate for years to return.
And he is aware of learn how to move, too. As per FBref, Guehi ranked among the many high 17% of centre-backs throughout Europe’s high 5 leagues final season for assists and the highest 13% for shot-creating actions per 90.
Oliver Glasner’s high-intensity, transitional fashion of soccer has instilled in Guehi an angle towards the ball-playing facet of the central defensive sport. Slot, then, would discover within the titan a mode which matches his personal model at Liverpool.
With different golf equipment additionally eager, Liverpool have to get this one over the road pronto.
Associated
Their very own Zubimendi: Liverpool favourites to signal “generational” £100m CM
Liverpool are reportedly favourites to signal one of many Premier League’s greatest younger midfielders.