Jörg Schmadtke can help, as Liverpool has already “listed” a clever Aurélien Tchouaméni transfer solution.

Liverpool never fully overcame its failure to acquire Aurélien Tchouaméni in the previous summer.

To deliver the transfer solution at last, Jörg Schmadtke can assist.

Although it’s difficult to imagine, Liverpool could still use up to three new midfielders this summer. Before the news about Fabinho and Jordan Henderson broke, most people agreed that one more would be nice; the loss of two more regular starters would ideally be balanced by the addition of two more players.

Saudi Arabia, whose unexpected arrival on the scene accelerated Jürgen Klopp’s rebuilding project and gave temporary sporting director Jörg Schmadtke a far busier summer than he might have anticipated, obviously provides a big portion of the answer to how Liverpool got into the position of needing to do so much all at once. Going back to last summer’s failed transfer attempt for Aurélien Tchouaméni is necessary for a more thorough explanation, though.

Liverpool made Tchouaméni its “all-or-nothing” target because they believed he was the pivotal player the midfield required. After falling short to Real Madrid, it tried to get by with what it had for another season in hopes of luring Jude Bellingham the following summer.

Last season, the midfield completely disintegrated as a result.

Liverpool’s central unit was largely unable to execute Klopp’s favored style of play as a result of the team’s concerning age and injury profiles. It was always going to be a busy transfer window as Schmadtke entered to try and right some old wrongs, even though Trent Alexander-Arnold’s inversion belatedly stabilized things.

Bellingham is unfortunately off the table, and Real Madrid is once again painted as the bad guy. But he and Tchouaméni share something, and Liverpool has already considered it, that ought to point Schmadtke in the direction of the practical solution.

Any Klopp midfielder must be capable of doing a little bit of everything. Bellingham is the best illustration of that; Invisible Goals’ excellent data-viz, which used data from FBref, rated Bellingham as a “complete midfielder.”. Tchouaméni, however, excels in winning balls, keeping them, and moving forward, checking off three of the four boxes.

As “complete 6/8 hybrids,” players who score highly in those categories are referred to. That’s precisely what Klopp needs because, along with a specialist like Roméo Lavia, it would give options in both roles and leave a reasonably well-rounded roster, given that it is highly unlikely that Liverpool will sign three more midfielders this summer.

Four other U23 midfielders from Europe’s top five leagues join Tchouaméni in that group. One of them is Moisés Caicedo, who has also been connected to Liverpool but whose cost has unquestionably increased too much. Mohamed Camara is an additional option, who we have previously recommended as a clever transfer choice. Manu Koné is actually the most notable name.

Koné was a frequently mentioned player, particularly at the beginning of the transfer window. He reportedly appeared on a list of prospective midfield targets on June 11 according to Sky Sports. Before Fabinho and Henderson departed, but before deals for Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szobozslai were finalized, those links ceased to exist. In any case, the Frenchman is a different type of player than the two Liverpool has already signed.

Koné could play either the advanced number eight or the six position with ease, whereas Szoboszlai is best suited for the advanced number eight position in the Liverpool system. Among midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues over the past year, he ranks in the 75th percentile for tackles, the 80th percentile for blocks, the 96th percentile for successful take-ons, and the 78th percentile for progressive carries.

End product is the one thing he really lacks. But Liverpool doesn’t actually require that. It’s always a plus, which is why Bellingham was the ultimate fantasy, but it’s obvious that Klopp has plenty of other options to succeed in that area of the game. Most importantly, a Tchouaméni figure is still required, and his fellow countryman Koné may hold the key to this.

This fits into Schmadtke’s expertise, according to him. His son Nils, a renowned expert on the Bundesliga, just so happens to be the sporting director at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Although he couldn’t hope to get Liverpool a discount on this basis, it would undoubtedly make the negotiations go more smoothly.

It is not ideal that Koné is currently sidelined due to a knee injury. Around the beginning of the season, he should be available again. But if Liverpool thinks he’s the right candidate, then this shouldn’t be enough to stop a transfer. That doesn’t necessarily indicate a particularly alarming medical history. He is one of the few young midfielders who fits the Tchouaméni mold and could provide Klopp with two solutions in one, so Schmadtke should definitely look into it.