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Liverpool’s decision to line up pre-season friendlies against RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg is perhaps multifaceted.
Ostensibly, of course, it’s a means of building fitness ahead of the new campaign by facing two Champions League-calibre sides. And it’s also convenient — the Reds will travel from south-east Asia to Austria for a training camp midway through the month, and so it makes sense to schedule games against the reigning league champions and a side from just across the border.
But beyond that, Liverpool will see it as a means of further strengthening the relationship with the Red Bull-owned clubs. They’ve done plenty of business in recent years, signing
Naby Keïta,
Ibrahima Konaté and
Takumi Minamino, and clearly hold Red Bull’s talent spotting, youth development and overarching football philosophy in high regard.
Facing Salzburg and Leipzig will give
Jürgen Klopp, then, a chance to run the rule over future transfer targets. Who might he be keeping a close eye on?
Well, perhaps the most likely candidate is
Luka Sučić.
Goal’s Neil Jones recently reported that members of Liverpool’s recruitment team view the 19-year-old as a ‘potentially elite prospect’.
A left-footer, Sučić offers a real goal threat from central midfield, netting 11 times in all competitions last season, and creatively, he’s often the man to play the final ball, ranking in the 92nd percentile for open-play passes leading to a shot attempt. He unsurprisingly added five assists to his double-figure goal tally.
Sučić is also very active out of possession, tackling 47.1 per cent of dribblers (88th percentile) and, eye-catchingly, averaging 5.44 pressures in the opposition third per 90 (95th percentile).
He’s already notched three caps for Croatia and came in at 38th in
FourFourTwo’s list of the most exciting teenagers in world football earlier this year. It’s easy to understand the hype.
Liverpool might also be intrigued by one of his midfield partners,
Mohamed Camara. As it stands,
Brighton are thought to be the favourites to land the Malian this summer and that’s a good sign, given that they came close to landing Darwin Núñez before he exploded at Benfica.
The data is so impressive that the Reds might be tempted to intervene. Camara is a competent distributor, ranking in the 89th percentile for medium pass completion and the 75th for long pass completion, but what really stands out is his ball-winning abilities.
He’s in the top 15 percentiles for interceptions (85th), tackles won (90th) and, most impressively, pressing success rate (99th). That speaks to his ability to read the game, sense when an opportunity for a turnover arises and close off the angles.
He’s also in the highest bracket for fouls drawn per 90, which will be another asset for his next club. Camara, who impressed in the 1-1 Champions League Round of 16 draw with Bayern Munich, looks like the next high-profile export from Salzburg.
But what about Leipzig? Liverpool may well admire their established stars like Joško Gvardiol,
Konrad Laimer and
Christopher Nkunku, but there’s also an out-of-favour option:
Ilaix Moriba.
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