Midfielder who left Jurgen Klopp stunned can bring…

Midfielder who left Jurgen Klopp stunned can bring secret attacking weapon to Liverpool

It seems Liverpool’s style of attack is in the early stages of an evolution. Little more than a year ago, the identity of the front three players was largely set in stone, with cross providing full-backs key for chance creation.

Subtle shifts have since occurred. Trent Alexander-Arnold now pops up in central areas far more often, to the extent he was the Premier League’s through ball king last season. He will have a traditional centre-forward to find with them now too, with Darwin Nunez having joined from Benfica.

There was evidence of how the Uruguayan can thrive upon such passes in the Community Shield. Jordan Henderson played a through ball to Nunez for a clear-cut chance, though Ederson was equal to his shot. While Trent can undoubtedly provide high quality opportunities centrally, adding some serious creative talent to the midfield could be another major step forward.

Fabio Carvalho looks very capable of contributing in this way, as does Harvey Elliott. Henderson assisted Mohamed Salah with fabulous passes against Manchester United and Everton last season too.

To achieve their aims of winning the biggest trophies at home and abroad, the Reds need to be the best of the best, though. Why not just sign one of the most creative midfielders around?

There are stories emanating from Italy suggesting this is what they are looking to do. Calcio Mercato Web have claimed that Inter Milan’s Hakan Calhanoglu is on Liverpool’s radar and is a ‘favourite’ of Jurgen Klopp.

The article states the Reds will be forced into the market thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s latest injury, but it is not the club’s style to be so reactive to unexpected events. Whether they are genuinely interested in Calhanoglu or not, Klopp will certainly recall the Turkish international thanks to a remarkable goal he scored against Dortmund in 2014.

More recently, Calhanoglu faced Liverpool home and away in the Champions League last season. He made more of an impression in the first leg, creating three of Inter’s seven chances while also hitting the woodwork in the first half.

It’s setting up others where he excels. In 2020/21, Calhanoglu was the top chance creator in Europe’s biggest five leagues, with 100 key passes (per FBRef). While he dipped to fourth last season, one spot ahead of Alexander-Arnold, the 28-year-old still topped the standings for Serie A.

Across the last year, the Inter Milan man was also in the top one percent of midfielders in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain for assists. To prove it’s no fluke, he’s in the same percentile for expected assists too.

Calhanoglu also carries an impressive shot from long distance, even if his Bundesliga effort eight years ago was an extreme example. He scored four league goals from outside the box last season, half of the total which Liverpool mustered. This is another area in which the Reds could make a gain.

They scored more goals from within the penalty area than Manchester City in 2021/22, but seven fewer from long-range. Calhanoglu is in the top three percent of big league midfielders for shots per 90 minutes in the last year, so would potentially offer a new threat to the Reds’ midfield in this sense too.

There’s one other aspect of his data profile which makes the rumour slightly more intriguing. The former AC Milan man is statistically very similar to Nicolo Barella, a teammate with whom Liverpool have also been linked.

The latter is younger but is under contract until 2026 and as such is not going to be easy to sign. Calhanoglu only has two years remaining on his deal, which helps explain why his market value according to Transfermarkt is only half as much. Which player is the better is up for debate but the older has the edge on some important statistics and would be cheaper too.

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