Five Defensive Midfielders Liverpool Could Target

With just over a couple of weeks left until the end of the transfer window Liverpool find themselves in a bit of bother to put it mildly.

The club sanctioned the sales of their two senior defensive midfielders, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, over a month ago and have still not found any replacements.

They were stuck in negotiations with Southampton for Romeo Lavia having three bids rejected and then decided to throw £111 million at Brighton’s Moises Caicedo.

However the pair worryingly for Liverpool decided to join Chelsea who Liverpool faced with Alexis Mac Allister in the defensive midfield role in their opening Premier League fixture which further emphasised the need for another signing.

So let’s have a look at five other options Liverpool could attempt to sign before the transfer window ends.

1) Cheick Doucoure

Liverpool were linked to the Crystal Palace midfielder earlier on in the window and they are asking for a large amount of money but that is to be expected for every target the Reds have now especially considering they have shown just how much they are willing to offer for the right player.

Doucoure had a fantastic first season in England winning the Palace Player of the Season award and at just 23-years-old has plenty of time to carry on improving.

He was one of the best in the Premier League last season for interceptions as in the last year in the top five leagues in he is the 95th percentile per 90 but a worry would be his passing as he lacks in progressive passes.

At the moment though Liverpool don’t really need someone to do that they need someone to stop attacks and Doucoure is very good at that whilst at Lens his passing seemed to be better due to how he was used.

So he could make a real difference for Liverpool.

2) Joao Palhinha

Another Premier League midfielder who is coming off his first season in England is Joao Palhinha and he was also linked earlier on in the window.

However the Portuguese international is 28-years-old but he has not been used as much as other players that age in the past which could suggest that he is capable of going late into his 30’s.

Like Doucoure he is a bit of a classic defensive midfielder which could complement Liverpool’s attack-heavy midfield of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.

His defensive stats according to fbref are one of the best in the top five leagues as he is the 99th percentile for tackles per 90, the 92nd percentile for aerial duels won per 90 and the 89th percentile for clearances per 90.

He also stands at six foot two inches which is an imposing figure to opposition attackers but again the problem will be the price tag Fulham put on him as Liverpool may not value him that highly but they may have to overpay due to the fact they have taken so long in this transfer window.

3) Florentino Luis

Benfica’s Florentino Luis is someone who Liverpool have looked at before and now they may have to do more than just look.

At 23 years old he has so much of his career left to grow and he already has Champions League experience as well as plenty of winning experience due to being a key part of the side that won the Portuguese division last season playing 33 games.

Luis like Palhinha has very impressive defensive stats as compared to others in the top European leagues he is in the 96th percentile for tackles per 90, 99th percentile for interceptions per 90 and the 85th percentile for aerial duels per 90.

As well as this Luis’s passing stats are something which will be seen as a huge positive as he was in the 96th percentile for pass completion but more importantly he was 82nd percentile for progressive passes.

Benfica have a massive release clause on Luis though but it is expected that they would welcome negotiations so Liverpool would not have to pay triple figures for him.

4) Manu Kone

Alongside Nice’s Kheprem Thuram Borussia Monchengladbach’s Manu Kone was supposedly one of the first key targets for Liverpool in this transfer window and he was viewed as a possible cheap signing.

Their interest died down but it may be reignited as Liverpool start scrambling for a defensive midfielder.

He is only 22-years-old and he featured in the under 21 European Championships for France but compared to other targets he doesn’t tend to have one standout midfield attribute.

Though that can be viewed as a positive as he is good at most things but at five foot 11 he doesn’t appear to be a like-for-like Fabinho replacement but he could be brought in alongside another one.

5) Mohamed Camara

An opposite approach to the other four players named as Mohamed Camara of Monaco is only five foot six inches and is in no way a intimidating player in the air.

He also hasn’t really been linked with Liverpool however his playstyle is tireless and he is in the 92nd percentile for blocks per 90 and the 89th percentile for blocks per 90 in the top five leagues.

If Liverpool were looking at bringing in two midfielders Camara could complement a tall destroyer quite well, at just 23 years old as well he could,like several others who have been linked, carry on developing under Jurgen Klopp.

Other options

Several others have been linked and two whose names have come up again are PSV’s Ibrahim Sangare and Leeds United’s Tyler Adams

They could be seen as cheaper options than the others listed but their quality would be questioned due to Sangare being in the Eredivisie and Adams being part of the Leeds United side who got relegated.

Another player who would be very ideal but almost impossible is Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimaraes.

What would happen if Liverpool threw the triple figures at the 25-year-old who has quickly turned into one of the best midfielders in the Premier League?

Maybe we will see a panic bid as the clock is ticking and Liverpool are desperate for a ‘6’ because if they don’t get one in they may be in a proper fight for the top four again rather than being closer to the top.

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Five Defensive Midfielders Liverpool Could Target

ByElliot Thompson