In an interview with Empire of the Kop, The Mirror’s northern football correspondent David Maddock named the one player he’d like to see Liverpool signing this summer – and it’s one who has previously donned the red shirt.
The journalist told Empire of the Kop that he’d like to have Wolves defender Conor Coady back at Anfield, with the 27-year-old playing just twice for the Reds’ first team in the embryonic years of his senior career.
When asked what players Liverpool want in the summer transfer window, Maddock replied: “Instead of giving you a name that is probably irrelevant, I’ll give you one I’d LIKE to see Liverpool sign. And it’s a former player. I really like Conor Coady, he’s a terrific fella, great character and wise talker…and a bloody good footballer too.
“You don’t get to be captain of Wolves under Nuno Espirito Santo without being a top class defender. I’d love to see him go back to Anfield, and I suspect deep down he’d love to, as well. But I admit it’s improbable, if not impossible.”
It’s not hard to see why Maddock would like to have Coady back at Liverpool, given how consistently the Wolves defender has performed in recent years. He remains on course to be ever-present for his club in the Premier League for a second successive season, a remarkable feat for an outfield player and one which speaks volumes for his stamina given that Nuno’s team have already played 48 matches in the current campaign.
Coady has averaged 1.2 successful tackles per game in the Premier League this season, a higher average than Liverpool defensive duo Joe Gomez (0.9) and Virgil van Dijk (0.8) and he is also quite composed in possession, boasting an 84.7% passing success rate which is superior to Dejan Lovren (83.4%) and Joel Matip (83.1%). Admittedly he doesn’t get on the ball as often as Liverpool’s centre-backs, each of whom averages more than 60 passes per game to Coady’s 47.1, but the Wolves defender’s statistics nonetheless suggest that he is comfortable with the ball at his feet.
However, Maddock is candid enough to admit that an Anfield return for the 27-year-old seems highly unlikely at this moment in time, and with the defender being a constant presence in Nuno’s line-up at Wolves, the chances are that he is very content at Molineux. Coady would probably not be out of place at Liverpool but, as Maddock has said, the chances of him signing for the Reds in the foreseeable future appear hypothetical at best.
Would you like to have Coady back at Liverpool? Do you feel that such a move would seem most unlikely? Share your views in the comments section below!
