Liverpool have pulled themselves away from the clutches of mediocrity and purgatory this season under the tutelage of Jürgen Klopp. The Reds are flying high in the league, being placed second in the league table and five points behind league leaders Chelsea. However, there is no room for complacency and Klopp is very keen to bolster his front line to keep the title charge intact.
Apparently, Liverpool have been linked with Benfica’s frontman Raúl Jiménez Rodriguez for a move involving a transfer fee of around £22 million. The 25-year-old striker has been in a fine touch this season and no wonder why Klopp is pursuing him. We have pencilled a brief SWOT Analysis of Jiménez Rodriguez for our readers to throw some light on the calibre as well as the flaws of this promising striker.
Strengths
First and foremost, it has to be mentioned that Jiménez Rodriguez is a decent scoring machine. Apart from his brief spell in La Liga in Atlético Madrid’s shirt, there has been a decent number of goals under his belt whilst he was employed by Club América in the past or in his current season for Benfica. So far this season, he has garnered 5 goals from 10 appearances with a healthy shot accuracy of 67% which is indeed quite healthy for a front-man.
He is an attacker with good all-around traits which includes his decent creativity, formidable skills and an excellent eye to penetrate into the box. He possesses a strong and towering physique with a height of 6’3” which allows him to be so good in the air. Moreover, he holds the ball well, works hard and at the same time, he gets backwards to cater to the defensive needs of his side which makes him a perfect utility player for Benfica.
Weaknesses
Jiménez Rodriguez suffers from inconsistency and this leaves a severe dent on his stature and occasional blunders from him up front is a common sight. Moreover, his passing is shambolic and this quality makes him guilty of losing the ball on multiple occasions. So far this season in Portuguese Primeira Liga, his pass accuracy has been merely 71%, which is next to tatters.
Moreover, he lacks the imagination needed to be in the group of elite players owing to the fact that he fails to create chances or bag assists the way an attacker should. Statistically speaking, the Mexican has created merely one chance and has no assist to his name so far this season which tells us that he isn’t a complete package yet.
Opportunities
Jiménez Rodriguez has plenty of experience in him, thus implying that he can aid to bring the glory days back to Anfield. Besides, he has been an important cog in Mexico national team’s machinery and has also won the gold medal in Men’s football in 2012 London Olympics. Klopp has an elaborative history of resurrecting the careers of many individuals and also of taking them to the next level and thus, the German can definitely vouch for Jiménez Rodriguez’s merits as well.
Adding to this, it has to be mentioned that Premier League stands miles ahead of Portuguese League in terms of quality of professionals and driving limelight. So, personal benefits for the player are also attached with the move which will undoubtedly be a pretty good learning opportunity from the Premier League greats as well.
Threats
Well, this is a part which might shoo away Jiménez Rodriguez from the wish-list of Liverpool. From 2011-14, he plied his trade at Club América and then, Atlético Madrid roped him into their side which was personally a big move for the player. Sadly, his spell at the Spanish capital yielded next to nothing. In 21 games, he could muster only one goal and eventually, Atlético Madrid were tempted to sell him to Benfica.
Premier League is no child’s play and considering that Jiménez Rodriguez flopped in La Liga, the probability of him faltering in the English soil seems to be quite high. His performances always showed that he wasn’t good enough for a top quality side. Moreover, there are plenty of striking options for Liverpool at the moment and thus, Liverpool must be cautious about what they are actually aiming for.
Statistics Credits: Squawka.
