Liverpool fans are not in the happiest of moods after what has transpired in the last two weeks. All seemed to be going well when the team beat Manchester City without the services of Philippe Coutinho, who left for Barcelona, and Virgil van Dijk, who wasn’t used in the game. However, two subsequent defeats against teams they should have arguably demolished has raised quite a few eyebrows.
The Reds have been linked with a few names; Thomas Lemar and Riyad Mahrez the most prominent ones, but there has been no reported development from the club in trying to secure the deals. The most recent name to be linked with the Reds is Monaco attacker Keita Balde.
According to the Mirror, “Liverpool and Arsenal have been put on red alert over the availability of Monaco starlet Keita Balde.”
Balde is seen as a cheaper alternative to Thomas Lemar who will cost the club an astonishing £90m. A majority of the funds Liverpool received for Coutinho were used in the van Dijk and Naby Keita deal, so the club isn’t in the position to break their club record for transfers (which stands at £75m) once again.
A panic buy?
Yes, definitely. After the departure of Coutinho, Liverpool need someone who can unlock a defence, not another Mohamed Salah or Sadio Mane. Don’t get me wrong, the two are world class players, but likes we saw against Swansea and West Brom, they need someone creative behind them to function well against a low-block.
Liverpool are inevitably going to face teams who will play with a packed defence in the coming months, and they could come undone. Players like Mane and Salah are unstoppable against the bigger teams because of the overall proactive style of the opposition (barring Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte maybe), but like we saw last season in Coutinho’s absence, they don’t really have someone who can unlock a defence with a creative pass.
Coutinho averaged nearly 3 key passes a game, significantly higher than what Balde has recorded in the Ligue 1 so far this season (0.8). Granted, Monaco have struggled after the departure of their bigger players of last season, but in a league where the competition isn’t the best, you’d expect a £30m signing to muster better numbers.
With only a few days to go before the transfer window closes, Liverpool need to get their act together else risk sliding down the table.
Stats courtesy Whoscored