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Liverpool burst into race for “most direct winger in Europe”
Have Liverpool turned a corner? Certainly, the Reds have eased the noise and external pressure that they heaped upon themselves earlier in the season, with a leaky defence and stale tactics pulling them well away from title contention in the Premier League.
Arne Slot has been steadfast and resilient. He understands that Liverpool continue to flatter to deceive, even as they ride a 13-game unbeaten run (currently the longest across Europe’s top-five leagues), and that new pragmatism has swept from the side their sparkle in attack.
Now that the ship has been steadied, this needs changing. Mohamed Salah continues to be linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League, and Cody Gakpo leaves something to be desired.
How Liverpool plan to revamp their attack
Through Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike, Liverpool have secured their centre-forward position for years to come. There we have two of the most dangerous marksmen in the business.
But the offensive flanks lack something, especially with Luis Diaz having left for Bayern Munich last summer. Liverpool need a young and rip-roaring winger to restore the balance, even with Salah back in the mix.
According to Liverpool correspondent Lewis Steele, FC. Koln’s Said El Mala has been added to the shortlist, and while the idea of a January buy is interesting, FSG chiefs understand it may be a hard one to engineer.
El Mala, 19, has burst into the scene in the Bundesliga this season, and with Chelsea, Manchester City and Bayern Munich all making their interest known this season, it could be a difficult one to pull off, with Koln pricing the up-and-comer at €60m (equating to about £52m).
All this points toward the long-term planning that FSG have excelled at over the past decade. Liverpool will pounce if they spy an opportunity this month, but El Mala would be worth the wait, should he prove unavailable until the summer.
What Said El Mala would bring to Liverpool
El Mala is only a teenager, but he has cemented himself as an important piece of the system at Koln, increasingly involved over the past few months after routinely starting from the bench in the opening phase of the season.
This season, the German, who has been called up to the national side without gracing the field yet, has scored seven goals and provided three assists across 18 matches, starting only eight of those games.
There’s the marker of a natural-born finisher, innately effective in the final third. He’s also positionally flexible, something Slot is known to desire from his forwards.
|
Said El Mala – Career Stats by Position |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Position |
Apps |
Goals + Assists |
|
Left wing |
48 |
20 + 7 |
|
Attacking midfield |
17 |
7 + 6 |
|
Right wing |
6 |
2 + 0 |
|
Centre-forward |
5 |
1 + 0 |
|
Data via Transfermarkt |
||
As per DataMB, he ranks among the top 2% of Bundesliga forwards this season for offensive duels won per 90. Basically, that means that he’s a combative presence, happy to get stuck in. His conversion rate leaves something to be desired, but a young forward chipping in with plenty of goals and assists as they fire plenty of shots on goal can hardly be a bad thing.
Refinement will come, and Liverpool will help nurture his potential, even if that comes at the expense of Gakpo’s playing time on the left wing.
The 26-year-old Gakpo has scored five goals and provided three assists across 20 Premier League fixtures this season. He creates with regularity and he wins duels against defenders.
And yet, the Liverpool fanbase feel there is something missing. Indeed, Gakpo is predictable, cutting inside and shooting all too often. It’s a recurrent theme, and one that has pulled dynamism and excitement from the Reds attack.
In El Mala, an exciting new force would be added to the fold, with analyst Spencer Mossman even calling him “the most direct winger in Europe“.
FotMob also outline El Mala’s dribbling prowess, winning 6.26 duels and completing 2.53 dribbles per league game this season.
When you consider how young he is and how much potential he could yet reach for a club like Liverpool, signing him feels like a no-brainer, with his multi-faceted attacking approach setting him in good standing to leapfrog Gakpo in Slot’s squad.
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