HUGE BOOST : Liverpool lining up move for £50m Slot favourite who’d unlock Nunez

This talented midfielder could prove to be the final piece of the puzzle at Anfield.

Liverpool have started the summer’s transfer-related discourse in typical fashion, keeping a lid on the chatter surrounding fresh faces and indeed the ongoing contract situations of Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

It’s easy to forget that the summer transfer window has not actually opened for business yet, with the rumour mill pressing and probing as clubs start to hone in on areas and players to improve squads.

But FSG have re-signed Michael Edwards in an improved, CEO of Football capacity, and the data-driven genius will be working closely with Arne Slot – Jurgen Klopp’s successor – to identify the best course of action for the Anfield first team.

Wide speculation, confirmed by The Athletic, has revealed that Liverpool are on the lookout for a centre-back and a wide forward, but while last summer’s midfield-focused rebuild succeeded in reviving the team, moves may well be made to complete the centre with a well-placed signing.

Liverpool lining up new midfielder

As per Gazzetta dello Sport, Liverpool have received a big boost in their long-time pursuit of Atalanta midfielder Teun Koopemeiners, who is more likely to leave the Europa League champions than his teammate Ederson this summer.

Both stars are on the Reds’ radar but Koopmeiners , who is valued at around £50m, is eager to depart and is also attracting interest from Serie A giants Juventus.

Koopmeiners was cruelly injured in the Netherlands’ warm-up against Iceland in a friendly on Monday and will miss the 2024 EUROs, though he is still set on finding a new club after making his recovery.

Why Koopmeiners is Perfect for Slot

Liverpool have a range of talented midfielders that played important parts in a successful final campaign under Jurgen Klopp – and that’s without mention the exciting boon of youth players, making such a marked impact throughout 2023/24.

But Koopmeiners would offer something distinctive and different, with a knack for influencing matches through his technical skill, melding this with an intelligent and composed approach.

The 25-year-old would also add goals from the Reds centre, having scored a whopping 15 strikes across all competitions last term. Not just a marksman from the middle though, the 6 foot 1 phenom has been described as “very versatile” by his manager, Gian Piero Gasperini.

Heralding Koopmeiners’ skill set, his former coach Pascal Jansen said: “His stamina is amazing. His pressing and chasing abilities when out of possession, I would almost say they are inhuman.”

Make no mistake, Liverpool will not imitate Klopp under Slot’s leadership but one of the reasons that the former Feyenoord manager was anointed was because of his high-energy, suffocating style of play, carrying more than a hint of the German tactician at its core while bringing a possession-centric, suffocating element that has drawn comparisons to Pep Guardiola.

After all, Slot himself described the sagacious Manchester City manager as a “control freak just like me”. Think of a more measured and calculated version of Klopp’s Liverpool, that may well be how Slot’s first team shapes out to perform when the campaign kicks off.

Koopmeiners would be a wonderful addition in that regard, offering something of a blend between that of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai to add a layer to the system.

As per FBref, he ranks among the top 18% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for passes attempted, the top 12% for progressive passes and the top 5% for clearances per 90, emphasising his ball-playing acumen and

Furthermore, given that he’s actually played under Slot before at AZ Alkmaar, completing 58 appearances and scoring 21 goals under his countryman, he’s a player Liverpool’s head coach knows well and would likely be able to champion his brand of football.

His seamless ability to connect the midfield and the attack could also prove invaluable for Liverpool, perhaps even reviving Darwin Nunez and seeing the Uruguayan find the perfect sidekick in his pursuit of centre-forward success.

Why Koopmeiners could lift Darwin Nunez

Nunez scored 18 goals and added 13 assists in all competitions for Liverpool last season but he just can’t seem to shake the criticisms that mar his efforts on Merseyside.

Darwin Nunez: PL Stats Comparison

Stat

22/23

23/24

Matches played

29

36

Matches started

19

22

Goals

9

11

Assists

3

8

Big chances missed

20

27

Pass completion

67%

72%

Big chances created

11

Key passes per game

1.0

0.9

Dribbles per game

0.6 (49%)

0.4 (43%)

Duels won per game

2.8 (38%)

2.4 (38%)

Stats via Sofascore

The table above shows the stats behind the man regarding Nunez’s first two seasons in the Premier League, and while he’s become more effective in playmaking, there hasn’t really been any significant improvement, especially in the regression in his already-concerning finishing.

But Nunez’s struggle is a matter of temperament, not talent, and within Slot’s system, will feature him as more of an arrowhead to best serve Slot’s 4-2-3-1 formation, perhaps finding a ready source of supply through Koopmeiners, who created nine big chances in Serie A, averaged 1.8 key passes per game and, crucially, kept things crisp with an 82% pass success rate

Koopmeiners will be devastated that injury on the cusp of the international stage has precluded him from performing at the 2024 EUROs, but he will be just as concerned that a lengthy layoff would leave suitors like Liverpool forced to turn elsewhere.

As long as it’s nothing too serious, Koopmeiners will be a name on Liverpool transfer round-up pages with regularity over the coming months.

Within a sea of talented possibles, Koopmeiners is a player of first-class quality and he must be signed, ensuring that the Reds enter a new era with a solid chance of fighting for the highest honours.