FORGET ANDRE TRINDADE, JOAO PALHINHA IS BETTER THAN HIM LIVERPOOL CAN FIX NO.6 DILEMMA WITH £52M PL SOLUTION

Article image:Forget Andre: Liverpool could hijack transfer and fix No.6 dilemma with £52m PL solution

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.

At around or under £52m, it’s not terribly expensive in modern day terms for one of the Premier League’s finest holding midfielders.

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Does Palhinha fit the bill?

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.

Article image:Forget Andre: Liverpool could hijack transfer and fix No.6 dilemma with £52m PL solution

Joao Palhinha in action for Portugal –

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.