Can Emre light up the Premier League?

Emre could become very important for LFC

49,653 fans filled the Yankee Stadium to watch an exciting game as the Premier League’s best two teams played out a pulsating 2-2 draw, with the Mighty Reds prevailing after penalties. With Man City signing an agreement with the New York Yankees to start an MLS franchise, this was meant to be a home game for the Sky Blues, but the Stadium was dominated by a sea of Red. With the largest attendance at a Yankees home game this year being 48,572, this is another sign of how the Premier League is increasingly popular in the States.

Now sitting at the top of their group on 5 points, 1 point ahead of City, Liverpool are in pole-position to qualify for the final if they can get a positive result against old Champions League adversaries AC Milan, who are already eliminated after losing their first 2 games.

For those of us who stayed up late to watch the game, another late night will ensue as Liverpool kick off at 11.30pm UK time on Saturday night and, if we proceed to the final, at 1am on Tuesday Morning. With only 1 day’s rest in between games, Brendan Rodgers will be planning to utilise his squad to ensure there aren’t any more untimely injuries.

In fact while this pre-season has been very good in terms of the quality of opposition Liverpool are facing, the quality of pitches (including two converted Baseball parks) have hardly been ideal, and perhaps contributed to a number of niggles. In addition to the serious injury to new signing Adam Lallana, Liverpool have been without Agger, Flanagan, Borini, Markovic & Skrtel amongst others at various times and Dejan Lovren’s inability to gain a Visa has meant he has been forced to train at Melwood with the Under 21s.

With the England players arriving back late, and Sakho & Mignolet only playing their first game against Man City, Brendan has been shuffling his pack. However one new recruit that has really caught the eye has been young German Emre Can.

With a good pedigree having learned his trade at Bayern Munich and been virtually ever present for Bayer Leverkusen, including games in the Champions League, Emre (whose Surname seems to be pronounced ‘Zhan’) has stood out.

Even from the first training session with his new team-mates there has been a buzz about him, and while he has also played in defensive midfield, left back & centre back for Leverkusen, Brendan has played him in pre-season as a box to box midfielder. His form in pre-season has been all the more impressive given he missed the trip to Brondby with a niggle and had to come off early in another pre-season game with a calf strain.

The first thing that is apparent is that Emre is a big unit. He’s 6 ft 1 in, but is very muscular and powerfully built. As a result he’s hard to knock off the ball, and can shield the ball with ease. There’s a popular Vine doing the rounds where Emre brushes off the powerfully built Micah Richards as if he’s not even there! Emre wins his challenges on the ground but almost always in the air as well. Physically he won’t be intimidated by anyone in the Premier League.

However it’s his footballing skills that most impress. He’s very comfortable on the ball, and with good technique passes and moves in a fluid manner that perhaps belies his large frame. He’s linked very well with Coutinho & Henderson when he’s played, and even when he comes off the substitutes bench is able to make an immediate impact, as he did again against Man City.

While Henderson is known for his high energy runs off the ball, Can has made a number of dribbles and sprints covering large distances with the ball – even with the occasional step over. His pace when he gets going is also impressive. Furthermore he doesn’t get phased in the final third of the field, like say Joe Allen does, and has put in some lovely through balls and one twos around the opposition area. His run and through ball to Sterling on 90 minutes against City should have won Liverpool the game when Raheem hit a gorgeous first time shot into the top corner from distance – however a linesman’s flag unfortunately denied him.

No doubt at 20 years old Emre has areas to improve, but it’s too early to start criticising a young player who has made such an immediate impact when he isn’t even at full fitness. Many would have thought Can would have been a good backup player to cover for Gerrard and Henderson, however his impressive form has meant he is surely challenging for a starting spot at the beginning of the season, particularly given the injuries to other players in the squad.

Emre’s arrival looked to be spelling the end to the Liverpool career of the popular Lucas, and the Brazilian may yet leave, but given that Rodgers is playing Emre in a position ahead of Gerrard, it is likely to be Joe Allen who finds himself missing minutes in the team. Can’s arrival may not have been lauded in the press as much as say the eye-catching signings of Lallana and Markovic, but first impressions are we’ve got a real player on our hands!

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