Now that Fekir deal is off (although it could potentially be resurrected after the WC), what are our alternatives? It seems we were very much focused on this player and there were almost no others linked with us who play in the same position – however now we will have no choice but to explore our 2nd, 3rd etc choice. Fekir is unique in that he is one of the few (available) players who combines the qualities of a #10 and #9 and could potentially cover for Firmino. It's unlikely we'll be able to find a Fekir clone this summer, so some shift of priorities might be in order. Here are some of our known targets by position:
Wingers:
Pulisic and Ousmane Dembele seem to be Klopp's dream targets, but both will be very, very difficult to attain this summer. We've also been recently linked with a bunch of lesser-known names like Moses Simon or Steven Bergwijn, but those are probably not anywhere near the top of the list. Among last year's reported targets, I would keep an eye on Julian Brandt (like Fekir, an unconventional and intriguing "blend" of qualities, which seems to be a big selling point with Klopp), Atletico's Angel Correa and Lisbon's Gelson Martins. Leverkusen's Leon Bailey has not been credibly linked to us yet, but should also be very much on the radar. To me it looked like we were in the market for a winger as a separate matter from the pursuit of Fekir, but perhaps that deal falling through might give us an incentive to pursue a more expensive target in this position.
Strikers:
We've been linked with almost no "proper" #9's in the recent couple of transfer windows. Leipzig's Timo Werner seems to be almost the only striker Klopp wanted to buy, but with doubts over Lewandowski's future, my money is on Bayern being his destination.
"Pure" AMs:
I classify players like Isco, Payet, Lanzini or James Rodriguez here. The problem here is that very few top sides have a spot in the first 11 for this type of a player – only Wenger's Arsenal were romantic and foolish enough to offer Ozil a permanent #10 spot (which may explain why their midfield was regularly being overrun); even huge talents like Isco and James don't enojy 100% consistent playing time in their respective teams. I love watching the creativity and elegance of these players, but sadly they are going out of fashion. One intriguing possibility here is Norwich's James Maddison, who looks like a younger version of Lallana (with a better long-range shot).
# 8 types:
On the contrary, creative midfielders capable of playing in the midfield 3 seem to be all the rage now. Coutinho commanded a huge fee as developed into that kind of player, Lemar was quoted for £90M last summer and Milinkovic-Savic is in the similar price range this term. We were close to getting Goretzka for free in January, but Bayern's pull proved too much. Personally I like Fekir's young teammate Hossem Aouar (who by all accounts is not for sale this summer) and if Klopp is in the mood for a little rehabilitation project, PSG's Draxler might become available. Like I said many times, I hope that eventually Trent can develop into that type of player.
DLP – an unconventional solution:
Finally, a failure to capture Fekir could lead to a complete rethinking of the midfield shape – instead of a potential 4-2-3-1 with Fekir at the tip of the midfield triangle, we might go back to the idea of a "creative #6," someone like Jorginho or Ruben Neves playing behind 2 hard-working CMs (of which we now have plenty) and eliminating the need for an AM altogether. Tactically, this is the most exciting possibility for me, because I think the combination of an elite deep-lying playmaker with the speed and finishing ability of our front 3 can be devastating. If this happens, all the pain from the failed transfer will have been worth it.
Wingers:
Pulisic and Ousmane Dembele seem to be Klopp's dream targets, but both will be very, very difficult to attain this summer. We've also been recently linked with a bunch of lesser-known names like Moses Simon or Steven Bergwijn, but those are probably not anywhere near the top of the list. Among last year's reported targets, I would keep an eye on Julian Brandt (like Fekir, an unconventional and intriguing "blend" of qualities, which seems to be a big selling point with Klopp), Atletico's Angel Correa and Lisbon's Gelson Martins. Leverkusen's Leon Bailey has not been credibly linked to us yet, but should also be very much on the radar. To me it looked like we were in the market for a winger as a separate matter from the pursuit of Fekir, but perhaps that deal falling through might give us an incentive to pursue a more expensive target in this position.
Strikers:
We've been linked with almost no "proper" #9's in the recent couple of transfer windows. Leipzig's Timo Werner seems to be almost the only striker Klopp wanted to buy, but with doubts over Lewandowski's future, my money is on Bayern being his destination.
"Pure" AMs:
I classify players like Isco, Payet, Lanzini or James Rodriguez here. The problem here is that very few top sides have a spot in the first 11 for this type of a player – only Wenger's Arsenal were romantic and foolish enough to offer Ozil a permanent #10 spot (which may explain why their midfield was regularly being overrun); even huge talents like Isco and James don't enojy 100% consistent playing time in their respective teams. I love watching the creativity and elegance of these players, but sadly they are going out of fashion. One intriguing possibility here is Norwich's James Maddison, who looks like a younger version of Lallana (with a better long-range shot).
# 8 types:
On the contrary, creative midfielders capable of playing in the midfield 3 seem to be all the rage now. Coutinho commanded a huge fee as developed into that kind of player, Lemar was quoted for £90M last summer and Milinkovic-Savic is in the similar price range this term. We were close to getting Goretzka for free in January, but Bayern's pull proved too much. Personally I like Fekir's young teammate Hossem Aouar (who by all accounts is not for sale this summer) and if Klopp is in the mood for a little rehabilitation project, PSG's Draxler might become available. Like I said many times, I hope that eventually Trent can develop into that type of player.
DLP – an unconventional solution:
Finally, a failure to capture Fekir could lead to a complete rethinking of the midfield shape – instead of a potential 4-2-3-1 with Fekir at the tip of the midfield triangle, we might go back to the idea of a "creative #6," someone like Jorginho or Ruben Neves playing behind 2 hard-working CMs (of which we now have plenty) and eliminating the need for an AM altogether. Tactically, this is the most exciting possibility for me, because I think the combination of an elite deep-lying playmaker with the speed and finishing ability of our front 3 can be devastating. If this happens, all the pain from the failed transfer will have been worth it.