According to reports from Spain, Liverpool seemingly have their eyes on a bargain raid on LaLiga in the January transfer window.
Despite the recent returns of Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa from injury, it appears that the Anfield hierarchy remain determined to add to Arne Slot’s attacking ranks next month with a Spanish youngster who was previously in Barcelona’s academy.
Catalan outlet Sport have claimed that the Reds – along with Manchester City and Tottenham – are all currently scouting Real Valladolid winger Raul Moro.
The 22-year-old could be available for transfer in January, with the LaLiga strugglers prepared to entertain offers as low as €10m (£8.3m) – loose change for the likes of Liverpool, but a significant potential influx for La Pucela.
The forward’s contract at the Estadio José Zorrilla runs to 2028, but that clearly hasn’t dissuaded several Premier League suitors from eyeing up a prospective swoop for him.
Admittely we’re not overly familiar with Moro, but from looking at his statistics he doesn’t stand out as a player who’d revolutionise Slot’s current squad, which already boasts six high-quality forwards.
The Spaniard has netted only three goals in 16 matches so far this season, albeit for a team mired in LaLiga’s relegation zone, and a return of six goals in 95 senior career appearances doesn’t scream prolific.
Also, when analysing a series of underlying performance metrics from FBref, the Real Valladolid winger doesn’t compare fantastically to positional peers in Europe’s five main leagues over the past year – the only trait for which he ranks among the top 20% of that subset is successful take-ons with 2.44 per game.
Maybe the Liverpool hierarchy see something in Moro which doesn’t immediately meet the eye. Maybe they view him as a player who hasn’t caught fire yet but, if brought under Slot’s tutelage, has the innate capabilities to do so.
It’s a rumour that we’d advise taking with a pinch of salt, and not one that we can honestly see coming to fruition, but let’s see if other outlets closer to Merseyside build upon it over the coming days and weeks.
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