Jurgen Klopp’s men will be getting vigorously ready for their qualifier against Hoffenheim at Anfield this week as they will look to seal qualification into the group stage before they can start spending in the transfer market yet again.
The manager will know that his side will need a defensive addition before the deadline day but he has not been able to lure his top transfer target in Virgil van Dijk to the club yet this summer. The Dutch international has already handed in a transfer request at Southampton who are not ready to sell him but Liverpool will still look to sign him up before the windows shuts.
However, Klopp wants to keep his options open and has been looking at other alternatives and surely, he will be looking for players for this season as well as the future. One such player who falls into the latter category is Perr Schuurs.
Born and brought up in Nieuwstadt, Netherlands, the 17-year old exciting defender has turned into the most exciting prospect in the domestic circuit in his country and is improving by leaps and bounds recently.
He started his youth career with Fortuna Sittard, a club playing in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier league competition in Netherlands. He spent just four years in the youth squad before being promoted into the first team in 2016. He made his senior debut not even a year ago but has already established himself as the first choice at the Fortuna Sittard Stadion.
A centre back, who can also play as a defensive midfielder, Schuurs has four assists and two goals in 25 appearances in the Jupiler League and has picked up just one yellow card all his career. Standing at 6ft 3in, he is a commanding centre-half who excels in making tackles in dangerous areas.
His understanding of the game along with his attributes are a perfect fit for the Premier League and like Virgil van Dijk and now Wesley Hoedt, he will surely have his chance to prove himself in England.
Reports from the Mail claim that Liverpool have already had him on a trial in May and were impressed but face competition from the likes of Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Ajax and PSV among other clubs.
If they are able to land him, it will be a shift in focus from Klopp, from short-term solutions at the back to long-term ones. Van Dijk may yet elude Liverpool and though Schuurs is not going to walk into the first team at Anfield, he will be given enough exposure at the highest level, before he can turn into a star under Klopp.
It is good to see the manager looking to solve Liverpool’s defensive problems once and for all but do you think this is the right approach?
