Liverpool’s search for further midfield reinforcements in January could lead them to seek a relatively local solution. Joao Palhinha, previously linked to Jurgen Klopp’s men by the Daily Mail (Mirror), will reportedly be allowed to leave in the winter window. Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) that the Portuguese international will be […]
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Liverpool’s search for further midfield reinforcements in January could lead them to seek a relatively local solution.
Joao Palhinha, previously linked to Jurgen Klopp’s men by the Daily Mail (Mirror), will reportedly be allowed to leave in the winter window.
Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) that the Portuguese international will be allowed to head to the Bundesliga for ‘definitely’ less than £52.3m.
Fulham have signaled Joao #Palhinha they would let him go for a lower fee to FC Bayern in January than the planned €60-65m in summer.
Palhinha remains on Bayern's list
Palhinha & Bayern, a question of money… pic.twitter.com/zFijVi7yOO
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) November 21, 2023
At around or under £52m, it’s not terribly expensive in modern day terms for one of the Premier League’s finest holding midfielders.
If Liverpool are keen on an out-and-out destroyer, of a similar mould to a Fabinho, they could do a lot worse than the Fulham star.
The 27-year-old registers ludicrously high in defensive metrics – tackles (99th percentile), interceptions (89th percentile), blocks (83rd percentile) and aerials won (85th percentile) – according to FBref.
However, we’d have some serious concerns over what we’d lose from a progression/possession standpoint.
Though you’d have to imagine Palhinha’s numbers are adversely affected by the quality of footballers around him, ranking in the 46% percentile for pass completion is poor (Alexis Mac Allister ranks in the 68th percentile).
By contrast, the likes of our Argentine sensation and Curtis Jones are far more adept at holding on to the ball and progressing it up the pitch.
Whilst the temptation to revert back to a destroyer will prove irresistible to some quarters of the fanbase, we’re not so sure that the Cottagers star fits the bill for what our recruitment team is looking for.
The post Forget Andre: Liverpool could hijack transfer and fix No.6 dilemma with £52m PL solution appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.
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