Szoboszlai might be unlock by Jurgen Klopp in Liverpool’s raid for a £39 million “one-man army”

According to reports, the Reds are considering a move to sign the central midfield player.

As a number of players came and went from Anfield during the summer transfer window, Liverpool made the decision to completely restructure their midfield options.

Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita, and James Milner were among the players that Jurgen Klopp let go on permanent or free transfers.

The Reds used this opportunity to restructure their roster in that region of the pitch by adding Wataru Endo, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, and Dominik Szoboszlai.

With 17 games played, Klopp’s team is second in the Premier League and will face Fulham in the League Cup semi-finals next month. Thus far, their efforts in the transfer market have paid off.

This, however, does not seem to be the last of the Reds’ midfield adjustments, as they are apparently targeting several players in that position to enhance their 2024 roster.

Latest Liverpool transfer news

According to a report from CaughtOffside, Liverpool has had internal meetings to discuss their intentions for the upcoming season, and they now see their midfield and defence as their top objectives.

According to the site, they are interested in signing Portugal international Joao Palhinha from Premier League side Fulham. They estimate that signing him would cost the club between £40 million and £50 million, and Bayern Munich is also vying for his services.

The club’s shortlist of midfield targets reportedly includes OGC Nice star Khephren Thuram and Borussia Monchengladbach youngster Manu Kone.

It does not, however, say whether Liverpool plans to recruit another midfield player in the January transfer window or whether they are willing to wait until the end of the campaign.

Florian Plettenberg, a reporter for Sky Sports Germany, stated in October that Kone would be free to leave Gladbach next month if the right deal materialised.

According to reports, his current valuation is as high as €45 million (£39 million), which implies that he would be marginally less expensive than Palhinha in January.

According to Plettenberg, the centre midfield player wants to advance in his career by the earliest possible summer, and Bayern Munich is one of the teams that is interested in signing him.

At the time, the German writer claimed that there had been no discussions or negotiations about a potential transfer to Liverpool, but the most recent piece from CaughtOffside implies that they might be competing for the services of the young talent.

Szoboszlai’s full potential as a Liverpool player may eventually be realised if Klopp can work out a deal to sign Kone from Gladbach in January.

The Reds would have an excellent number six who is aggressive and capable of both moving the ball forward to his teammates and continuously stopping opponent assaults.

The playing style of Manu Kone

The 21-year-old combatant is a ball-winning midfielder who enjoys diving in to regularly recover possession for his team in the middle of the pitch.

That does not, however, imply that he lacks skill with the ball because the French genius can also carry and pass the ball to move his team up the pitch.

Kone is a fantastic number six on defence. Over the previous 365 days, he has ranked in the top 13% of midfielders in the Men’s Big Five Leagues and European competitions for tackles (2.80) and the top 24% for blocks (1.44) per 90.

The £39 million-rated star performs above average in a number of important defensive stats, and he is among the top 35% of his positional peers for interceptions (1.17) per 90.

Kone is among the top 12% of midfielders for both successful take-ons (2.43) and progressive carries (2.53) per 90, demonstrating his ability to influence the ball as well. His pass success percentage of 87.1% over the past 365 days places him in the top 22% as well.

With 5.3 ball recoveries per game in the Bundesliga this season, the former Toulouse whiz has the ability to leave an impact at both ends of the play.

The statistics indicating that Szoboszlai has more to offer

Because Kone is a powerful defensive midfielder who can also forward the ball to the excellent offensive players, Klopp may finally be able to get the most out of Szoboszlai from an attacking standpoint.

On the other hand, Wataru Endo is currently below average for the Reds and Stuttgart combined in the Men’s Big Five Leagues and European competitions over the last 365 days in terms of progressive carries (0.99), tackles (1.92), and interceptions (0.85) per 90.

This implies that in order to free up the Hungary international to concentrate more on his skills in the final third, the Gladbach star would give more both in and out of possession.

Szoboszlai has contributed two goals and two assists in 17 Premier League games for the Reds this season, or one goal per 4.2 games, but his play for Leipzig indicates that he still has more to give.

The 23-year-old magician scored 12 goals and provided 16 assists in 62 Bundesliga games during his two seasons with the German team, averaging one per 2.2 matches.

These numbers demonstrate that the talented midfield player is capable of nearly twice as many goals and assists as he does at the Premier League level.