Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are slowly finding some consistency as they are now unbeaten in the last 13 games across all competitions. But for their problems at the back, they could have been closer to Manchester City at the top of the tale and Jurgen Klopp now wants to make a few additions to the squad, to help them close the 20 point gap over the league leaders.
Apart from the backline, Liverpool also have a deficiency of central midfielders, more so after Jordan Henderson’s recent hamstring injury. Klopp will have to spend on a player who can solve this problem and according to former Liverpool and England star Paul Walsh, they should make a move for Chelsea star Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
“You mentioned Loftus-Cheek, I think he’d improve Liverpool in that central midfield area,” Walsh told Sky Sports in a recent interview. So is the 21-year old an option Klopp should look at?
Currently on loan at Crystal Palace, Loftus-Cheek is the first choice midfielder for Roy Hodgson, where he has managed a goal and two assists in 14 league starts. He also made his international debut for England under Gareth Southgate and has impressed in both his outings so far.
A product of the Chelsea academy, the midfielder has made just 22 league appearances in a Blue shirt and will want to quit the club come summer, due to the quality in the first team at Stamford Bridge. And his stint at the Selhurst Park this season, has done no harm to his reputation.
A central midfielder, who can also play an attacking role, Loftus-Cheek has averages 1.3 key passes and 3.1 dribbles per game for a struggling Crystal Palace side this season. He will be back at the Bridge at the end of the campaign but he has no serious role in the system Conte uses at Chelsea.
So it is expected that he will up for sale and Liverpool should definitely give him a shot. The CDM position at Anfield still needs some improvement but the other two midfielder positions in Klopp’s 4-3-3 is where Loftus Cheek is at his best.
He can beat his man with ease in the middle of the park and can turn defense into attack pretty quickly. He averages one interception and one tackle per game, which shows the defensive side of his game and he will be a decent fit in Klopp’s system.
However, with Naby Keita coming in, and the likes Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Georginio Wijnaldum and Adam Lallana fighting for that role along with James Milner, Emre Can and Philippe Coutinho, if they stay, the Chelsea man does not have a first team role at the club.
He does add stability and depth to the Liverpool lineup but will not be easy to lure out of Chelsea. It will also not be easy for Liverpool to lure Chelsea into selling a rival, making this deal all the more difficult.
However, Paul Walsh has given a decent solution to the midfield problems currently at Anfield.
