Heading into the international break, Liverpool find themselves in a pretty good position as they are behind Manchester City and Chelsea on goal difference as they have laid down an early marker as potential title challengers.
The Reds still have a long way to go, but a few more additions to the squad could help them keep up with City. Recent reports have emerged claiming that Liverpool have some interest in signing PSV Eindhoven attacker Steven Bergwijn.
Sport claim that Jürgen Klopp’s side are in a two-way battle with Manchester United for the winger who has a clause of €20 million. Reports in the Netherlands also revealed that the Reds had scouts watching the talented Dutchman.
Who is Steven Bergwijn?
Ajax’s loss was PSV’s gain in the end as the latter poached him from the Ajax Youth Academy in the summer of 2011. Since then, his development has been consistent as he represented the national team at all the youth levels and made his way up to the senior PSV team in 2015.
Predominantly a left-winger, Bergwijn is your typical modern-day inverted winger, pretty much like Sadio Mane. An excellent dribbler of the ball, Bergwijn has a good burst of pace and also scores a few goals from the left wing.
So far this season, he has managed four goals and four assists and averages an incredible 3.3 dribbles per game, something that will excite the Liverpool fans.
PSV lifted the Eredivisie last season, and Bergwijn played an important role as he found the back of the net eight times and also contributed seven assists.
What will Bergwijn add to Liverpool?
Liverpool have added good depth to the squad, but the attack is still heavily reliant on the trio of Salah, Firmino and Mane. Daniel Sturridge has made an impact in a few games, but it doesn’t seem like he’ll get too many starts as Klopp will want to preserve him for the late impact rather than lose him to an injury again.
The club signed Xherdan Shaqiri as a backup for Salah but do need a player who could potentially provide the depth or push Mane. The likes of Chelsea and Man City have a good backup in the attacking department; something Liverpool don’t necessarily boast despite strengthening in the last window.
Bergwijn has shown that he has plenty of ability and was part of an attack that is pretty similar to Liverpool regarding style. The likes of Hirving Lozano and Bergwijn are excellent on the ball and are unstoppable on the break, a blueprint often seen at Anfield.
The Dutchman is still very young and turned 21 today, so he has a lot of time on his hands to develop into a top player under Klopp if the Reds end up signing him.
Stats via Whoscored