OPINION
When looking at the Liverpool team, it’s difficult to find a weakness. In all honesty, you have to look pretty closely to find any sort of flaw in Jurgen Klopp’s set-up.
However, if pushed to name an area of the pitch that isn’t as strong as the others, most prognosticators would probably plump for the centre of midfield. With respect to Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum, there is still room for a little bit of improvement.
It’s not quite a surprise, then, to hear that Liverpool are in the hunt for Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek, as are most of European football’s mega powers. FC Inter News reported on Tuesday that the Reds have been taking a look at the 22-year-old.
Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Tottenham Hotspur all have strong interest in the Dutch maestro, while Italian heavyweights Roma and Napoli have made tentative approaches as well.
So it’s not going to be easy for Klopp to bring the youngster to Anfield, but the fact that Liverpool are monitoring an elite talent like Van de Beek is surely enough to have most Reds fans licking their lips.
The report puts the Dutch international’s price tag at £69million, which isn’t actually an outrageous sum for a player of his ability in the current transfer market.
When you examine how Van de Beek has performed this season, there’s no doubt that he would provide that extra bit of creativity which has sometimes been missing from the Liverpool midfield.
As per WhoScored.com, the Ajax star has scored as many league goals as Henderson, Wijnaldum and James Milner combined so far this campaign. Meanwhile, his four assists is double what the trio have achieved between them.
He’s also averaging more shots and key passes per game than the three Liverpool men, with the latter tally of 2.3 way ahead of Henderson’s 0.3, Wijnaldum’s 0.1 and Milner’s 0.6.
Clearly this is a player who would instantly improve Klopp’s team. He is a world class talent who is only going to get better. £69million? Sounds like a snip.
