Liverpool continued their strive for Premier League success in Arne Slot’s first season, with their 4-1 victory over Ipswich Town at Anfield over the weekend.
Goals from Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah made it 4-0 for Liverpool after 65 minutes, before Ipswich defender, Jacob Greaves, netted a consolation goal in the 90th minute to make it 4-1.
Currently sitting six points clear at the top of the table with one game in hand, Liverpool are firmly in the driving seat heading into the second half of the season.
However, a top-class January addition could further solidify their title hopes, and FSG (Fenway Sports Group) could look to provide Slot with that in the final week of the window.
Liverpool looking at midfield signing
According to reports from CaughtOffside, Liverpool are one of the clubs to have ‘made a move’ for Bayern Munich midfielder, Joshua Kimmich. The German is yet to agree a new deal with Bayern, opening the door to other clubs who are registering interest in him.
The reports state that Liverpool, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain are all keen on the 29-year-old. If he does not agree a new deal, teams could make a move on a potential free transfer or even look to pay a smaller fee for him to arrive this month.
Kimmich has made 29 appearances for the German giants so far this season, scoring one goal and providing eight assists.
How Kimmich could become Liverpool’s answer to Rodri
For the past few seasons, Liverpool have been looking to make changes to their midfield department, with the likes of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum all leaving the club.
In order to combat that, they have made signings such as Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Szoboszlai, as well as Curtis Jones coming through the academy ranks.
However, whilst this midfield group has a variety of skills, their defensive acumen, experience at the highest level and ability to dictate the tempo of the game from deeper zones can be lacking at times. This has often been a key difference in recent years, as Manchester City have Rodri, who does all of these things at an exceptional level.
So, could Kimmich be the Anfield outfit’s answer to the great Spaniard? Let’s take a look.
|
Kimmich (24/25) vs Rodri (23/24) comparison |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stats (per 90 mins) |
Kimmich |
Rodri |
|
Goals + Assists |
0.32 |
0.48 |
|
Progressive Carries |
1.92 |
2.88 |
|
Progressive Passes |
10.6 |
12.4 |
|
Passes Attempted |
113.0 |
114.7 |
|
Pass Completion % |
89.0% |
91.9% |
|
Passes into Final Third |
12.6 |
11.9 |
|
Key Passes |
2.42 |
1.63 |
|
Tackles |
1.62 |
2.10 |
|
Interceptions |
0.67 |
0.73 |
|
Ball Recoveries |
6.27 |
7.17 |
|
Stats taken from FBref |
||
When comparing Kimmich to Rodri in 2023/24 when he was not injured, you can see how closely the German ranks in many metrics, which is no easy feat considering this was much of the campaign that won Rodri his Ballon d’Or award.
The ability to have a high volume of passes in a game, complete them with efficiency, progress play and even add some threat with key passes too, all whilst protecting the defence and leading in a central area of the pitch, makes them invaluable to their side.
José Mourinho has even praised Kimmich in the past as an “absolutely phenomenal” player, labelling the German as “intelligent” showing his ability to play both as a right-back and a defensive midfielder. This versatility could also come in useful, depending on the Trent Alexander-Arnold situation come the end of the season.
Kimmich would clearly bring that extra experience in the midfield, helping the likes of Gravenberch and Jones especially, who can provide the box-to-box legs in the middle, but could also use the hand on their shoulder, leading that midfield unit.
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