According to the Guardian, Liverpool are reportedly considering a move for FC Rostov forward Sardar Azmoun in the January transfer window. Jürgen Klopp is looking desperately at options down the right attacking position after Danny Ings is out for the season with a knee injury and Sadio Mane will leave the club for one month owing to African Cup of Nations.
The 21-year-old Iran international made a controversial move to Rostov in February 2015 on loan from Rubin Kazan. He had appealed to the Court of Arbitration when his current employers triggered what Kazan claimed was a non-existent buy-out clause this summer. He lost the case.
The centre-forward has, however, carried his goalscoring knack from Rubin Kazan to Rostov. He has already scored 4 times for the club in 19 appearances in all competitions. Those include some very important goals against Anderlecht and Ajax in the UEFA Champions League qualifying round. He also bagged one against Atlético Madrid in last week’s group game.
Some Premier League clubs apart from Liverpool are linked with Azmoun, which include the likes of Everton and Stoke City. Liverpool are known to have monitored the player and are considering to bring him in.
Azmoun is exactly the kind of attacking midfielder Klopp would like to have in his squad. He is just 21, which means he has a lot to learn and he won’t mind playing the second fiddle to Mane and Ings when they return later. Klopp is also known to make great players out of youngsters and he could flourish under the manager.
Azmoun likes to dribble and to get involved in the indirect set pieces. His knack of initiating build-ups through short passes is also a good attribute which could be improved upon.
One big concern, however, could be his height. At 178 cm, Azmoun is not the ideal player who could cope with the Premier League physicality. But in Mane, we have seen a short player becoming very effective and Azmoun could be one of those.
Liverpool are currently top of the Premier League with very little difference between the top four clubs. A bad performance in a game is enough to pull them down by two spots at least. Hence, squad depth is an essential factor and Klopp would like to have players who could easily replace another by shifting positions. Azmoun looks like a perfect long-term prospect for the job at Liverpool in the wide attacking position.
