Timo Werner’s impending move to Chelsea have broken the hearts of the Reds supporters, and even though the board would want to justify it as a financial decision, the fans could feel that the club had enough corpus to go ahead with this move. Probably that is the reason that the board is now looking towards other directions to make a statement signing.
Marca reports that Barcelona’s delay in securing the services of Lautaro Martinez has prompted other clubs to monitor the situation, Liverpool being one of them. Manchester City have pulled out of the race though, with the valuation of the Inter forward seemingly too high for them.
Would Lautaro Martinez suit Liverpool?
If there is an out and out Klopp player in the world at the moment, it is the Argentine striker. The greatest facet in the game of this 22-year-old is his ability to press for the entire 90 minutes. His work rate is exceptional, and he not only helps his team in the attack but also drops down to recover possession from the opponents when the ball is lost.
The German manager is famous for implementing ‘gegen-press’ which involves all his players suffocating the opposition by pressing the entire length of the match and Liverpool have attained a lot of success by doing the same. The fitness and tenacity of Martinez would be crucial in this tactical setup, and he would fit Klopp’s team like a piece in a jigsaw puzzle.
The Inter Milan man has so far scored 16 times for his side this term, clearly demonstrating that his eye for goal is exceptional. Moreover, he has taken 3.9 shots per game in the league, always keeping the defenders on their toes. The accuracy of his shots is also praiseworthy as he can drive home a goal after taking a low cornered one, enough to beat the shot-stopper.
The other capability of the player that must be talked about is his intelligent movement on and off the ball. He is lethal when moving into pockets of space in the opposition half and sprinting towards the goal, eventually testing the keeper with his shooting abilities. However, if there is one area of Martinez’s game that needs improvement, it is his passing ability, as he has only delivered 59.5% of successful passes. At Liverpool, the Argentina international would be surrounded by better players, and without distributing the ball more often, he might be unable to cope up with the physical nature of the Premier League.
Whom would he replace at Liverpool?
The Merseyside club have a stable front three partnership which has been successful over the years. However, if the club are to spend a ludicrous amount of money on someone like Martinez, it cannot be expected that he would be made to sit on the bench. While Mane and Salah have played on the flanks with the liberty to cut inside and move into a striker’s position, Firmino has mostly operated as a false nine, dropping back and helping the other two in the attack.
With Martinez in the side, the German manager would be expected to play him in the centre-forward position, and Salah and Mane could be asked to help him in the attack. They would not be given as much liberty to move around, and the real victim would be the Brazilian forward, whose gametime would be limited.
At this moment all these thoughts are but wishful thinking and the club would have to shell out a considerable chunk of money to rope in the maverick forward, which seems unlikely given the failed pursuit of Werner.
Stats from Whoscored.
