It’s always important to keep an open mind when it comes to transfer rumours. Some will be based in reality, else no moves would ever take place, but others are flights of fancy from who knows where.
Even the genuine stories don’t all pan out. Liverpool were hoping to sign Aurelien Tchouameni in the summer but he opted to join Real Madrid instead. The wound from losing the Champions League final had a little salt added to it almost immediately.
The Reds don’t tend to make big signings in the January transfer window (unless a rival forces their hand, as we saw with Luis Diaz ). As such, all eyes will be on the business they aim to complete once 2022/23 is in the books, with Jude Bellingham sizing up to be the most sought-after player in Europe next summer.
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It has been reported that the Dortmund midfielder has also decided he would prefer Real to Liverpool when he makes his next move. If that is the case, then Julian Ward and his team of analysts will need to turn their attentions elsewhere.
There have been stories claiming they may look to sign Flamengo’s Joao Gomes or perhaps Enzo Fernandez from Benfica. Matheus Nunes was also rumoured earlier this year, but he joined Wolves. Whatever the Reds’ level of interest in that trio, Bellingham and Tchouameni are established favourites. But it clearly can’t have been a case of getting one or the other to solve an issue, as their strengths lie in different areas.
As the above radar chart from Squawka shows, Bellingham gets further forward, having more touches in the box as well as dribbling and creating chances more frequently. Tchouameni is the stronger player defensively, though still capable of passes into the final third on a regular basis.
But perhaps we’re looking at the question from the wrong angle. It’s not that they need to be like each other for them to make sense as targets, but rather that they fit into Jurgen Klopp’s team with an eye towards replacing someone else.
For instance, according to Statsbomb’s data ( on FBRef ), the midfielder with whom Tchouameni is most similar in Europe’s top five leagues is Thiago Alcantara. He will be out of contract at the end of next season and unfortunately suffers injuries on a regular basis, so having another player of the same skill set would be ideal.
We can make a similar claim regarding Bellingham. Among his top matches is Naby Keita, another Liverpool midfielder for whom a spell in the treatment room is rarely far away. His current deal expires in the summer so the young England international could become a direct replacement for him in more ways than one. The facts in this paragraph also apply to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, so Bellingham taking his spot and role (far more frequently) could be an option too.
As for the other midfielders supposedly on the Reds’ radar, they have little or no experience in England, France, Germany, Italy or Spain which means they fall outside the jurisdiction of a straightforward Statsbomb comparison. That is not to say that a certain number does not catch the eye though.
If you look at the WhoScored profiles of Gomes and Nunes, the one metric they both have under the heading of strengths is through balls. The latter attempted 0.4 per 90 minutes last season, the same figure as Bellingham ( per Squawka ), and that duo along with Tchouameni are together in a range of just 0.03 per 90 across their careers ( per FBRef ).
While through balls aren’t listed as a positive on Fernandez’ page, what is true is that no player created more chances than him via defence splitting passes in the Argentine league in 2021. It’s probably coincidence, but Liverpool seem to be repeatedly linked with midfielders who have through ball ability in their lockers. Alex Baena, though more of a forward, is another player supposedly of interest to the club who ticks this box.
Being strong in one very specific area alone would never be enough to convince the stat-heads at Liverpool that a player is right for the team. However, with the front end of the team evolving with the acquisition of Darwin Nunez (who received through balls from Jordan Henderson for chances against Manchester City and Fulham ), perhaps this one skill is a must-have for the next midfield signings the Reds make.
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