Liverpool are "still in the race" to sign £110m sensation claims transfer expert

It’s been a challenging season for Liverpool…

Their summer transfer philosophy, which saw the club refrain from bringing in a new midfielder, was one that seemed astute at first.

Though, with hindsight, we can safely say that the decision is one that would come back to bite them.

The club are nowhere near where they should be this season and currently face an uphill battle to secure european football in any capacity, with Brighton and Brentford breathing down the neck of Jurgen Klopp’s side in the Premier League standings.

What’s the word?

Despite their potential absence from Champions League qualification this season, transfer expert Pete O’Rourke believes that Liverpool are “still in the race” to sign £110million Jude Bellingham.

Though, the journalist acknowledges that the race to sign the England international will be “really difficult.”

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, O’Rourke said:

"They're still in the race, I think, for Jude Bellingham, but it's going to be a really difficult race looking at the other clubs who are also after him.

"The likes of Manchester City and Real Madrid can afford to probably spend more than Liverpool can right now and they will have Champions League football to offer to Jude Bellingham, which, as it stands, is looking unlikely for Liverpool. So that could play a huge role in any potential move for Jude Bellingham as well."

Desperate Reds

Injuries have certainly not helped Liverpool this season and have highlighted the Reds’ lack of depth, particularly throughout the midfield ranks.

There is also a drastic lack of creativity in Klopp’s engine room.

So much so, that the vast majority of chances this season have come from the wide areas in the form of Trent Alexander-Arnold (48 chances created), Mohamed Salah (47 chances created), and Andrew Robertson (39 chances created).

The most creative central midfielder for Liverpool in the Premier League this season is Harvey Elliott with 20 chances created. Though, the 19-year-old has of course been deployed further up the pitch on occasion, so make of that what you will.

Ultimately, Liverpool are desperate for a creative and stable midfield outlet. A figure who can pull the strings and develop with the squad for years to come.

Bellingham can certainly be that man.

The Final Say

The Reds are desperate for an asset like Borussia Dortmund star Bellingham - an impactful central option that can grab the game by the scruff of the neck.

At just 19-years-old, Bellingham has quickly emerged as a talismanic figure for the Bundesliga title challengers and has endured stellar form in both domestic and european competition.

The England star’s haul of four goals and one assist in seven Champions League games this term is not so much of a shock, considering his underlying numbers over the last calendar year.

Bellingham’s shots total of 1.70 per 90 is a metric that places him in the 88th percentile according to FBref, whilst his average of 7.99 progressive passes places him in a more superior 94th percentile.

Whatsmore, an average of 3.62 shot-creating actions per game is yet another world-beating metric, clocking him in the 89th percentile in comparison to positionally similar players in Europe’s top five leagues over the last 365 days. Impressive to say the least.

It goes without saying that Liverpool should be doing everything they can to obtain what is one of Europe’s most prosperous assets, though as O’Rourke states, it will not be an easy battle against the likes of Manchester City and Real Madrid.

It’s also worth noting that a potential stay at Dortmund will seem appealing at this point, especially with Edin Terzic’s side mounting a serious Bundesliga title challenge.

How and Why Liverpool signed Darwin Nunez

Liverpool have ruthlessly put an end to the Darwin Nunez saga…

By signing the Uruguayan for a reported €75m fee, which is around £64m.

And it’s a fee that could rise as high as £85.6m when performance related add-ons are taken into account.

Nunez had a number of potential suitors from Premier League clubs.

So how and why did Liverpool sign Darwin Nunez?

HOW LIVERPOOL SIGNED NUNEZ

Throughout all of the build up to the Summer Transfer Window, Nunez was a name on the lips of most clubs, after enjoying a break-out season with Benfica in a campaign which saw him notch 26 goals and four assists in 28 Liga Portugal games.

The 22-year-old personally announced himself to Klopp, scoring in both legs of the Champions League Quarter-Final clash to take his tally up to six goals in 10 UCL appearances.

Klopp was clearly impressed and it has since been said that the German was in private talks with the Striker two months prior to the deal being agreed.

WHY LIVERPOOL SIGNED NUNEZ

Quite simply, he’s proven himself as a reliable goalscorer this season and serves as a viable replacement for the departing Sadio Mane.

Nunez is primarily a centre-forward, but has been deployed as a left winger in a 4-3-3 system on five occasions this season, scoring ten goals and supplying two assists. An unbelievable return from the position that Mane currently occupies for Liverpool.

This makes the 22-year-old a versatile option in the attack for Klopp, who now has all bases covered in attack:

• A target-man in Nunez

• A false-nine in Firmino/Jota

• A complete forward in Nunez/Firmino/Jota

• An inverted-winger in Salah/Diaz/Jota/Nunez

• An inside-forward in Nunez/Diaz/Jota

• A support-winger in Diaz/Jota

For that reason, although Nunez will play the majority of his games as a centre-forward, we may see him on the left wing a handful of times next season in an attacking line that will mix and match every other game.

THE VERDICT

Liverpool proved themselves as the league’s most creative side in the season just gone, creating 97 big chances, 10 clear of Manchester City.

Though, they ranked third in the league for big chances missed with 59. Their main culprit was Diogo Jota who missed 14 chances with a shot conversion rate of 11.7% in the Premier League.

For comparison, Nunez achieved a shot conversion rate of 23.4% in the Liga Portugal - a metric that ranks him as the most clinical finisher among the Liverpool squad by some distance, with the likes of Salah and Mane registering a shot conversion rate of 12.8%, respectively.

As a lone centre-forward, Nunez will benefit hugely from Liverpool’s directness and can offer Klopp an immediate solution to his big chances missed problem in the same way that Haaland will for City.

Overall it’s a promising signing and, despite the huge price-tag, is more logical than most think.

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How Less Passes have improved Liverpool this season

Liverpool’s style of football has changed this season.

They’ve gone from making around 548 passes per game, to around 517 passes per game.

Whilst there’s only a difference of 31 passes, it’s a metric that has seen them improve as a team this season.

What does it suggest?

In short, it suggests that Liverpool have been more direct in their attacking play.

Compared to last year’s total of 5.6 shots on target per match and average of 1.8 goals per match, the difference is stark and evidences our suggestion nicely.

This year, Liverpool average around 7.0 shots on target per match and average around 2.6 goals per match also.

What else has improved?

Perhaps the most mesmerising stat that Liverpool have improved upon is the metric known as big chances created. According to Opta, this refers to “a situation where a player should be expected to score.”

Last year (2020/2021), Liverpool created a very impressive 82 big chances in 38 Premier League games. For context, Manchester City won the league, scored the most goals and had a total of 79 big chances created - 3 less than Liverpool that season.

Fast forward to this year’s Premier League campaign, in which Liverpool find themselves 25 matches deep (as of February 21st 2022), and they look as though they will massively improve on that previously high big chances created metric of 82.

In 25 Premier League games, they have created 72 big chances - a metric that see’s them rank 1st with no close second. Manchester City sit well behind them with 59 big chances created, with the Citizens then followed by Manchester United who sit in 3rd place for big chances created with 52.

It’s also worth noting that Liverpool have improved in the majority of their defensive metrics as well.

Though, there is no direct link between the improvement of their defence and the amount of passes per game. This is of course due to passes being part of the in-possession phase and not the out-of-possession phase.

Notable info:

- Stats as per Opta

- Recorded on Feb 21st 2022

- 25 games into Liverpool’s Premier League season

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