Midfield was always a concern at the dusk of last season, and that complemented by second to none outgoings meant Liverpool would have to bring an influx of top-notch players for the sake of having a balanced team going into the season. they did land up on Wataru Endo from Stuttgart. Though praises have been sung about the Japanese international it can be safe to say that Endo was not the first choice for the club.
Multiple midfielders were linked with a move to the Reds from Merseyside at time of commencement of the transfer window viz. Thuram, Kone, Lavia but as of now not many are pursued especially with Romeo Lavia joining Chelsea and Manu Kone suffering an injuy.
So, Klopp and his team now walk back into familiar grounds – this time the Premier League… as Crystal Palace’s Cheick Doucoure has been linked with a move to the Anfield.
Why Doucoure?
Ine name that has popped up since Henderson left the club is Cheick Doucoure. Liverpool are seemingly not done with the transfer market and would probably sign one more DM. Crystal Palace’s Player of the Season made 35 appearances last season and has capacities to play, as both, a centre and defensive midfielder which is exactly the kind of player Klopp needs right now as Trent is slowly transitioning to that middle of the pitch inverted role.
His profile matches a lot with the departing captain. He is very good at playing short passes and taking shots from a distance. Among midfielders playing in Europe’s top 5 leagues, his pass interception falls in the 97 percentile, screams alot that Liverpool need at this point.
But as it always has been this window, money will come a hurdle yet again the Liverpool. Crystal Palace have asked around 70 million pounds for the Malian midfielder, a huge asking price from Liverpool’s spending standards. But because they agreed to a figure of 110 million for Caicedo – everyone knows money is there and it remains to be seen whether the move happens or not before the window closes.
The Positives and Negatives
Doucoure signing will come with a lot of positives as Liverpool would now have 4 deep lying midfielders in their arsenal but one major drawback in case the deal does go through is that the Reds would have exhausted their quota of non-home grown players as Adrian has just signed a new deal with the club. It can potentially pose a huge disadvantage for a club in the future transfers.
Klopp said that when Milner signed for Liverpool he was 29 so not to judge Endo based on his age too quickly hinting at the fact that Endo will eventually become a squad player but with Thiago’s injury concerns and Bajcetic inexperience, the gaffer will need to sign a proper Number 6 preferably before the end of the transfer window.
Stay at Palace or Go to Anfield?
Cheick Doucoure, 23, currently earns 60,000 pounds per week and was signed for only 21 million last year. Liverpool could be ready to pay big money as long as the wage bill is not extremely high. Doucoure’s arrival at Anfield would be a “dream end” to the transfer window and it can be likely as Crystal Palace expected a large number of exits from the club.
Palace would also like the idea to retain Cheick Doucoure as they can pair him with Jefferson Lerma to play in a double pivot role. Reports say that the midfielder would be open to a move and personal terms will not be an issue.
In case the deal goes south Liverpool are also working for Kamara, Amrabat and even Gravenberch in the background.
Denouncement
Overall Cheick Doucoure would be a great addition to this Liverpool team as fans have seen they are not much sound with the defence like before and with Trent pushing forward it is leaving acres of space the opposition players can heavily exploit which will pose a major problem for Liverpool while facing teams like Manchester City, Arsenal, Brighton, Newcastle etc. So securing the signing of a Number 6 who can start weekly would change the course of the season for good. And he’s just 23, ample of potential ahead of him.