As per the Sun, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is reportedly keen on bringing Matthias Ginter in his squad. The Borussia Dortmund centre-back, who was touted as one of Germany’s brightest defensive prospects, has played a key role this season for his side.
But does he have what it takes to perform at Liverpool and more importantly, the Premier League?
It’s no wonder, that Liverpool are looking for some defensive acquisition in the market, as they have conceded 36 goals this season in the Premier League, more than any club in the top seven. With the frequent absence of Klopp’s preferred defensive pairs in Marvin Matip and Dejan Lovren due to injury, Liverpool are forced to play with an unfamiliar combination most of the times. And the mediocre performances from backups like Lucas Leiva and Ragnar Klavan didn’t help their cause this season either.
Matthias Ginter has previously worked under Jurgen Klopp when he was a coach at BVB. In fact, he was the one who brought the former Freiburg man to Dortmund in 2014, he was one of Bundesliga’s finest defenders at that time. Even though Ginter had a poor first season with Dortmund, he was still one of the few proffered choices for new boss Thomas Tuchel.
The 23-year-old defender went on to have a great season under Thomas Tuchel as he not just played a key part in defence but also showcased his versatility as a defender, featuring as a right back for most of the season. However, his performance did start to fade away come the second half of last season.
There’s no wonder that Ginter’s defensive versatility is one of his main assets as a player. He is naturally a centre-back but can also play as a right-back or central defensive midfielder if necessary.
Matthias Ginter has been a constant figure in Germany’s national teams but has failed to break into the starting lineup for Die Mannschaft, mainly due to the classy partnership of Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng. He did, however, used to lead the youth teams of Germany just a year ago.
Now, is he good enough?
Well, considering the fact that Ginter’s role in Dortmund grew substantially after Mats Hummels left for Bayern last summer, the 23-year-old has failed to emulate the current Bayern defender. Ginter’s form this season has been topsy-turvy and ‘mediocre’ to a larger extent. He mainly featured as a centre back alongside Sokratis but his overall game has been highly unacceptable, especially against high-octane teams like Hoffenheim or RB Leipzig.
Currently, the German International is having a poor run of form, messing up in almost every game. His individual mistakes saw Dortmund conceding two goals against Hertha Berlin while it was almost the same case against Ingolstadt in their last game. Ginter even failed to impress against a third division side in SF Lotte, in the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup.
He tends to be very slow at times which is certainly not suited for the Premier League as the game gets highly intensified. Ginter is also guilty of losing his markers in important moments. The one thing which will make sense of him moving to Liverpool is his versatility. He can solve Jurgen Klopp’s dilemma of having to choose Milner as a left back. But considering the arrival of new signing Omer Toprak from Leverkusen next season, Ginter’s place in the Dortmund setup is highly insecure. So Ginter would want to seek a new challenge somewhere else.
However, we never know in football do we? The former Freiburg man may or may not prove to be a great signing for Liverpool but one thing is for sure, the 23-year-old will be glad about the opportunity to play in England and work under his former coach Jurgen Klopp once again.
