Sassuolo hitman Gregoire Defrel is a man in demand with the transfer window approaching in a few days. Sassuolo director Giovanni Carnevali has revealed that the club has received offers for the player from England and Spain. It is believed that of the clubs interested in the forward from the Premier League, Liverpool are one.
Jürgen Klopp is interested in boosting his attacking options and Defrel is a player who has made it to the shortlist. In fact, the striker also impressed the scouts from Arsenal previously which indicates that despite the lack of fuss or glamour surrounding the Sassuolo man, he is a very potent target.
The striker has got a French nationality but interestingly has spent his entire professional career in Italy, playing for the likes of Parma, Foggia and Cesena. Having signed for Sassuolo last year, the 25-year old made a significant contribution upfront, scoring 7 times and assisting 3 in 33 Serie A games helping the ’Neroverdi’ to their best ever finish in top flight ending their campaign, ahead of A.C Milan and S.S Lazio in 6th place.
This season, Defrel has maintained his good form with 8 goals and 2 assists from the 18 appearances in all competitions so far.
The 25-year old is very versatile and although he is not the conventional out and out centre-forward, he certainly can carry out that role perfectly. His adaptability allows him to be equally comfortable in any position across the forward area. At 5 ft 11 inches, he isn’t the tallest of forwards but he uses his body very well in the challenges and the dribbling ability he possesses, enable him to impact games from the wide areas using the half spaces expertly. This particular trait has seen him draw comparisons with his fellow countryman Jeremy Menez, who excelled in the dribbling department as well.
For Jürgen Klopp, Defrel thus seems to be a perfect fit. The German manager is looking to mould his squad into a dynamic outfit capable of having positional flexibility with the ability to contribute in the pressing employed off the ball. Defrel’s strong work ethic and defensive contribution makes him almost tailor-made for such a system. A
Although according to the words of the Sassuolo director, it seems that the club are interested in selling the player but not in January. “It’s not our intention to sell him, especially in January. The winter market is for making improvements,” Giovanni told Radio Goal.
There is every chance that the French striker would be moving on in the summer and if he comes to Anfield then Liverpool will be securing the services of a player their manager would find very suitable to integrate into his system.
