Liverpool have not replaced Gini Wijnaldum since his departure, but they may have identified a suitable replacement who can also fix the club’s Fabinho dilemma.
Liverpool have been looking to find a resolution to their midfield problems ever since the departure of Gini Wijnaldum. The Dutchman was the last player who could competently provide cover for Fabinho in the Brazilian’s absence in the holding midfield role and since his departure, Liverpool have been vulnerable.
Ever since Wijnaldum left the club, Liverpool have relied on Fabinho far too much and even rushed him back early from an injury to play in the Champions League final last season — that’s how vital of a cog he has been to Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool machine.
The repercussions from that overload have been felt this season. Fabinho has looked jaded and a shadow of the player who was once regarded as one of the best in his position. Nowadays, Liverpool’s midfield are a little disjointed and easy to exploit.
A presence like Wijnaldum at his peak would be a welcome addition to the Liverpool midfield, and if Liverpool are serious about making the Champions League next season, they cannot afford to dither and wait until the summer in order to bolster the club’s options.
One player who is being monitored by the club according to ‘i’ News is Teun Koopmeiners, who the Reds have ‘watched in recent months’ and who was another player involved in the Dutch national team at the World Cup just like Cody Gakpo.
Just 24 years old, Koopmeiners has been catching the eye in Serie A this season and he could be an ideal profile to finally replace the Wijnaldum void at Anfield. A robust and technically gifted midfielder, he is more in the Xabi Alonso mould of a holding midfielder with great distribution and excellent reading of the game rather than a tough tackling midfielder, but he is also capable of playing further forward in a box-to-box, attacking midfield role, which makes him the kind of multi-faceted player Klopp loves to work with.
On the whole, he has played the vast majority of his games in holding midfield at club level, and while at Atalanta he has been required to play a bit further forward, which has diminished his defensive stats, taking a look at his numbers in the Eredivisie where he played in a more defensive role for AZ Alkmaar, similar to the one that would be required of him at Liverpool, Koopmeiners does show himself to be a competent defender.
He ranked in the 87th percentile for tackles attempted and tackles won among his positional peers in the league and won 56 per cent of his one vs one defensive duels as per FBref.
Even at the World Cup, Koopmeiners stood out for his ability to reprise possession. After the group stages were concluded, for players who have amassed the equivalent of at least three halves of football, Koopmeiners averaged the most tackles and interceptions per 90, winning 6.88 as per FBref.
Not only that, Koopmeiners is the kind of player who is adept at breaking into the box or scoring from long-range and he could provide a threat both defensive and offensively if used in a more box-to-box role as well. Capable of playing both roles in midfield just like Wijnaldum, he is far from a one-dimensional player which is exactly what the Liverpool midfield needs.
Possessing an excellent range and lots of energy well suited to Klopp’s gegenpress, Koopmeiners is valued at only $32m (£27m/€30m) by Transfermarkt, which would make him an affordable option even in the current window for the Reds.
Still relatively young, and with the kind of profile that would suit the club, if Liverpool are truly keeping an eye on him, then they would be smart to make a move in January.
source: https://www.liverpool.com/
