da betcris： This is a season of attrition for Liverpool, who must knuckle down and prove that they have absorbed the worst punches after a testing start to Arne Slot’s second term in charge.
da gbg bet： Liverpool are in a rut, alright, and need to start stringing together consistent results in the Premier League if they are to steer away from a true crisis, missing out on Champions League qualification after a record-breaking summer of spending.
It’s clear that the sale of Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich for £66.5m has contributed toward knocking the Anfield side out of kilter. The Colombian’s speed and combativeness have been sorely missed.
Stars such as Florian Wirtz have been added to the Liverpool ranks this summer, but sporting director Richard Hughes is already lining up another addition.
Liverpool searching for new attacking midfielders
Wirtz is only 22 years old, and though he joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen for £116m, there is an acceptance from the Reds hierarchy that the German’s integration will take a bit of time.
There’s a superstar in there, but he’s not been brought to the fore just yet. With this in mind, Liverpool might consider adding more talent to their ranks, someone who can jockey with Wirtz for a place out on the left wing.
Well, Juventus’ Kenan Yildiz could be the player for the job, with transfer insider Simon Phillips revealing that Liverpool have joined Chelsea, Manchester United and Real Madrid in the race for the silky attacking midfielder.
It’s previously been understood that United have expressed a willingness to pay €90m (about £79m) for the 20-year-old, and Liverpool have now been name-checked as being among those to make calls for the player as he marks one side of a contractual stand-off in Turin.
However, Hughes will need to act speedily if he is to win Yildiz over, with Juventus pushing to renew their starboy’s terms.
What Kenan Yildiz would bring to Liverpool
Yildiz might be young, but he’s made quite the name for himself over the past few years in Italy, breaking into Juventus’ first team a few years ago after previously spending a decade of his youth in Bayern Munich’s academy system.
With flair and magical skills on the ball, this is a player who is destined for the top, and in Serie A this season, he is creating an average of 2.4 key passes per game, having posted two goals and three assists from only nine starts.
Yildiz might have “all the tools to be one of the best wingers in the world”, as has been said by one analyst, but he shares with Wirtz a focal kind of creativity and snappiness that lend themselves to a central berth.
In this, Yildiz could find himself becoming Liverpool’s next version of Wirtz, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Hughes should waive the idea of signing him.
There’s no question that the Turkish talent needs to work on his physicality. As per Sofascore, he has won only 44% of his ground duels in Serie A this season, and he ranks among the bottom 3% of positional peers in that division this season for tackles won per 90 (FBref).
But this is a kid, and one with so much potential. He’s tenacious. Talent scout Jacek Kulig has lauded his “bravery”, using his athleticism to “make spectacular solo runs”.
Indeed, the dynamic midfielder ranks among the top 11% of positional peers across Europe for both shot-creating actions and successful take-ons per 90, corroborating that claim.
Having split his time across attacking midfield and left wing roles, performing the latter consistently this season, Yildiz shares even more tactical similarities with Wirtz, though there is a case to be made that he’s more electric when running, and thus could be a more natural fit out wide.
Second striker
59
18 (13)
Left wing
50
10 (9)
Attacking midfield
18
9 (6)
Right wing
17
3 (1)
Centre-forward
4
0 (0)
Wirtz’s start to life in England would serve as a cautionary tale for those elite talents looking to make a name for themselves on English shores. It is no easy feat to marry all the facets together in the Premier League.
Still, there is a sense he will come good, and with Yildiz added into the mix to battle with him for a berth, there’s every chance that the Turkish prospect would prove a jackpot signing for Liverpool, perhaps even working in concert with Wirtz to dynamise and widen the scope of Slot’s attacking dimensions.
The playmaker wouldn’t come cheap, but it has become clear over the past several months that Liverpool miss a snappy wide profile, and Yildiz could find himself growing into a household name in the Premier League down Liverpool’s left.
Shaping into a silky and physical attacking midfielder with stunning creative skills, Yildiz could be a real superstar down the line, albeit one who would be tussling for a starting berth with Wirtz at Liverpool.
But as the Reds’ double signing of Isak and Ekitike has shown us this summer, FSG are not against packaging this side with the best of the best, enough to win silverware across every front and year on year.
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