Liverpool targeting move for £60m “phenomenon”

Liverpool are expected to make a late surge toward an elusive first-team signing before the transfer window slams shut next weekend, with outgoing business starting to gain steam.

Fabio Carvalho was sold to Brentford in a deal rising to £27.5m last week and sought-after defender Sepp Van den Berg is in the process of joining him at the Gtec in a £25m transfer. Bobby Clark has also been sold to RB Salzburg, newly led by Pep Lijnders, for a £10m fee.

Such players are not first-team regulars and will profit in excess of £60m, ostensibly providing sporting director Richard Hughes with ample funds to bolster Arne Slot‘s squad with an impactful addition.

Moreover, Joe Gomez is considering leaving, with no shortage of suitors for the £45m-rated defender. Should he leave, Liverpool would unquestionably be left light at the rear, and it would be paramount that a fresh face be brought in to ensure that the new era goes off without a hitch.

Liverpool transfer news

According to Sky Germany’s Philipp Hinze, Liverpool are interested in striking a late-window deal for RB Leipzig’s Mohamed Simakan, though the interest is not yet advanced.

This is likely down to Gomez’s continuing role in Liverpool’s squad, indeed preparing for Brentford’s forthcoming trip to Anfield. Should the cogs shift, then intrigue could accelerate with a snap.

Simakan, aged 24, is thought to have a €70m (£60m) release clause and whether a more affordable figure could be negotiated is uncertain, but the Frenchman could bring the perfect skillset to Slot’s door – replacing the departed players and actually improving the squad.

Why Liverpool want Mohamed Simakan

The above-mentioned elements make for a more than compelling argument that Liverpool should sign a centre-back before the end of the month – and that’s without even mentioning that veteran Joel Matip’s contract expired back in June.

Having signed for Leipzig from Strasbourg in 2021, Simakan has since completed 121 matches – scoring seven goals and adding 13 assists – with his performances helping his team toward successive DFB-Pokal titles in 2021/22 and 2022/23 and the DFL-Supercup too.

He has the skills to succeed at an outfit like Liverpool, with Strasbourg reserve team manager Francois Keller even claiming that “we quickly realised that we were dealing with a phenomenon” soon after he emerged on the senior stage.

Liverpool’s return to the Champions League this year calls for some added impetus in defence, and Simakan’s aggression and intelligence could help the English giants go far as they step back in among Europe’s elite.

Simakan’s tactical fluidity suggests that he could be the perfect Gomez successor, with the dynamic Liverpool defender principally playing in the same roles – though his pliability stretched toward left-back and even defensive midfield last term.

Especially when considering the nature of the 6 foot 1 ace’s skillset. As per FBref, Simakan ranks among the top 13% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for goals scored, the top 12% for assists, the top 3% for shot-creating actions, the top 9% for progressive carries and the top 17% for successful take-ons per 90.

Of course, his data pool is swollen in parts by his movements between central defence and a wider berth, but he has maintained a sharp passing game and athletic robustness whatever the role, only furthering the argument that he could be Liverpool’s man.

With Trent Alexander-Arnold supported by the young and exciting Conor Bradley on the defensive right flank, it’s unlikely that Simakan would play the lion’s share of his football out wide, and so his signing could even see Liverpool land an upgrade on Jarell Quansah.

Jarell Quansah upgrade

Quansah, make no mistake, is one of the Premier League’s most talented up-and-comers. During the 2022/23 campaign, he plied his trade with Bristol Rovers in League One, with Klopp liking what he saw during last summer’s pre-season and integrating him into the senior fold.

Hailed as an “absolute monster” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, the 6 foot 5 defender featured prominently throughout the year and played an instrumental part in winning the Carabao Cup, starting his professional career off with a silver-laden season on Merseyside.

It’s important to remember that he’s still young and that Simakan arriving as an upgrade is not actually to make a negative comment on his giddy potential. Instead, Quansah could benefit from not shouldering too weighty a burden at this stage.

And from a tactical standpoint, Simakan’s creative ball-playing style could play right into Slot’s hands, raising fluency and opening further channels for the build-up play.

He also won 63% of his aerial battles in the Bundesliga last year, as per Sofascore, with a headed ability that could bear dividends across the duration of the year, for Quansah was subbed off at half-time during Liverpool’s Premier League opener against Ipswich Town last weekend.

Slot made a bold call in taking the young titan off on his debut as helmsman, having provided such a strong show of faith in Quansah by starting him ahead of Konate only to take him off, but his candid remark that Liverpool were not winning enough aerial battles, with the centre-half losing half of his duels.

Therefore, Liverpool simply have to sign Simakan before the transfer window slams shut next week. He is strong, physical and dynamic, with a versatile approach that could even see him fill in for Alexander-Arnold when need be.

Should Gomez be sold, it’s imperative that the deal is done.

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