Liverpool seem set to be active in the transfer market once the season ends.
According to reports from Germany, the Premier League leaders wish to include Timo Werner for their positions this summer. At first glance, this might look like an either/or situation. But there’s a demand for the two players at Anfield.
And no, this is not a Football Manager simulation.
The Reds have one of the deadliest trios in world soccer leading their lineup.
The reigning European champions could not call upon Firmino or Salah for last year’s epic Champions League semi-final against Barcelona.
Luckily for Klopp and his group, the injuries picked up from the forward have not been severe. Some may call it luck, while some pile praise on the health care team for handling the gamers’ workloads. However, the Reds will finally have to cover the thickness issue in their assault.
Liverpool have the numbers but if they have the quality is frequently a subject of debate.
While Divock Origi has turned out to be the perfect super-sub and Takumi Minamino has all of the makings of a perfect understudy to Firmino, if either had to play for a sustained time period the drop-off in quality could be noticeable. The brilliance of these in Liverpool’s attack frequently goes under the radar.
The reason why the leaders win so many matches is Salah, Mané and Firmino make things happen. None of them are clinical in the sense they want one opportunity to score. They don’t need to be. Everything is geared toward developing a ridiculous number of opportunities for them.
Manchester City could dominate and go back to the Premier League since they could deal with injuries to their forwards. If Sergio Agüero was out, they’d Gabriel Jesus. If Leroy Sané had a break, Riyad Mahrez could fill.
The Club World Cup champions could not compete with this initially. After signing a deal with Nike, Liverpool have more money. Enough to part with the reported #150million had to signal Werner and Sancho.
So, the Reds have the cash. They also need the set.
Salah could well miss pre-season and the beginning of this 2020/21 campaign because of the Olympics. He is also likely to overlook January, Together with Mané, due to the African Cup of Nations, while Firmino will be involved at the Copa América during the summertime.
Even if the prior Roma forward rejects the call-up into the Olympic squad, Liverpool are still Firmino-less during pre-season and will be with their No.10 and No.11 for a time after the turn of the year. There’ll be many more moments than normal up for grabs and that is before taking possible injuries and the need to rotate into consideration.
Having one game-changer on the seat is not the worst place to be in. However, when Salah directs the line, Liverpool usually lack speed on the right. However, with Werner and Sancho as alternatives, that would never be a problem again.
Werner burst on the scene for a left-winger but proceeded into a centre-forward role for RB Leipzig. Founded in assault along with a more traditional No.9, Werner is generally permitted to roam into broad areas and he does it well. He is no stranger to playing as a broad forward and, under Julian Nagelsmann, his game has become more curved, popping up on the right occasionally. His signing alone could give Liverpool numerous alternatives.
Then there is Sancho. Lucien Favre has utilised him on the right for large periods but he was deployed on the left before this year and his lead exploded. The England international can also function in fundamental places, too.
Liverpool realise the real value in multifunctional forwards. It’s due to this that a squad composed of Sancho, Werner, Salah, Firmino, Mané, and Minamino is completely possible. All of them have favoured positions but can perform across the front and would be comfortable in a variety of roles.
Formerly, the Merseysiders have had to sell star players to finance the coming of others. This squad differs. Liverpool are in a position to sign Werner and Sancho while maintaining hold of the three. They may have a year together before the club considers selling one of them. Having such a development strategy in place should make sure the Reds remain at the top table of English football for many years to come.
