A blistering start of the season has emanated Liverpool as potential title contenders, but a barren run upfront along with lack of artistry in the middle of the park have handed Reds boss Jurgen Klopp some early worries. The defensive conundrum seems to have sorted out following the arrival of Alisson in goal and Virgil van Dijk in central defence, but the egress of Philippe Coutinho has undoubtedly left a void regarding playmaking traits and innovativeness behind the ‘front three’.
Liverpool, meanwhile, must be boosted by the current contract status of Piotr Zielinski, the 24-year-old Napoli midfielder who is reportedly unwilling to sign a new deal that will double his current release clause of £57m. The Poland international is one of the finest names of Carlo Ancelotti’s promising squad who recently humbled Liverpool at Stadio San Paolo in a Champions League group stage encounter.
“He will be the next Kevin De Bruyne,” said Maurizio Sarri, their former gaffer currently in charge of Chelsea. Zielinski has been claimed to possess ‘more quality than De Bruyne‘ according to by Zbigniew Boniek, the former great of Polish football.
A sum of £57m is understandably vulnerable in such an inflated market, but the rumoured new term consisting a £114m release clause is indeed excessive and unreasonable despite the player’s growth in past couple of seasons. Klopp and his entourage scouted Zielinski for months though they failed to strike a deal with Udinese, his former club, which instead let him join Napoli for €16m following a successful loan stint with Empoli.
The player even issued a come-and-get-me plea saying he would love to play alongside Coutinho. The transfer, however, did not materialise back then but the Reds must try to get his signature in January to add more versatility in their midfield game.
He does not offer many goals or assists to his game nevertheless builds the move up from the deep with strong dribbling as well as passing attributes. Zielinski is a more accomplished individual right now than he was a couple of years ago and would enhance Liverpool with more technicality and creativity from the centre of the pitch.
The season-ending injury blow of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has left Jurgen Klopp with Naby Keita and Adam Lallana as the other midfield options who, however, are struggling with their form and fitness since the start of the 2018-19 season. There are rumours of Adrien Rabiot and Aaron Ramsey who are available for free next summer, but the addition of Zielinski would be a massive statement of intent from the Liverpool camp in chase of the Premier League dream.
