23-year old German midfielder Emre Can has entered the final year of his contract with Liverpool. The defensive midfielder signed for the Reds back in the summer of 2014, on a fee worth £10m as a promising 20-year old. The aggressive-minded midfielder with enough flair to produce outrageous goals from time to time has become a mainstay in the Liverpool midfield.
He is a core member of Klopp’s Anfield revolution and is now making his way into the national team, having made 16 appearances for the Die Mannschaft. With Can yet to sign a new deal at Anfield, a possible move for the ex-Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen midfielder is being coveted by a host of European clubs. The likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Juventus have been touted as possible destinations for him.
Can, who will be free to negotiate with teams outside England from January, is reportedly being chased by his former employees Bayern Munich as well. The clubs will be monitoring the situation at Anfield and will be keen to prize away the talented midfielder next season on a free transfer.
Like almost every other German player, Can is technically strong and his added flair on the ball makes him a threat if given a few yards of space outside the box. Praised by fans and pundits alike, Can has been compared to the likes of Michael Ballack for his style of play.
Although primarily a defensive midfielder who is versatile enough to play in defence if the situation demands, Can has a good range of passing and has been praised by national team coach Joachim Low for having a good overall game. He is strong on the ball and never shies away from a tackle.
He won the BBC goal of the season and the Carling goal of the season for his stunning overhead kick against Watford in the last campaign.
Chelsea currently hosts four midfielders in the form of N’Golo Kante, Cesc Fabregas, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Danny Drinkwater and although ideally adding Can might create a situation of too many cooks at the club, the Chelsea board can handle the situation differently.
Fabregas turns 31 next year and his ability to play in multiple positions makes him an asset to the club. As for Kante, he is indispensable to the club and Chelsea, who have just made a £40m investment in Bakayoko are likely to give time to the 23-year-old to develop at Stamford Bridge.
This ideally leaves Drinkwater as the fourth choice midfielder and although the club spent a fortune on him, he was seen as a stop-gap buy rather than a target for the club.
Moreover, Drinkwater, who will turn 28 next year, has never really shown signs of becoming a world-beater, unlike Can who, at the tender age of 23, is showing plenty of promise and can already add much more to the Chelsea team than Drinkwater. So if Chelsea were to pursue the German, they should be smart enough to move Drinkwater on and accept that the panic buy of the England international was a failed move.
Can would also gel well with Conte who himself was a centre midfielder and shares similar passionate and aggressive attitude towards the game. The only question that remains is if Liverpool have a say in selling one of their prized assets to a direct rival?
