It won’t be easy, but Liverpool do have to sign a replacement for Georginio Wijnaldum.
Lest we forget that the Dutchman played huge roles in how the Reds won a Champions League and Premier League title under Jurgen Klopp in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
If we’re honest, Liverpool could justify not signing one because Klopp still has Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Curtis Jones in the squad.
But remember what happened when the German failed to sign a replacement for Dejan Lovren?
Murphy’s Law came into play and before he knew it, Klopp was signing somebody from Preston North End as a stop-gap option after injuries to Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip.
They were down to the bare bones and with Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain’s injury history, it wouldn’t be a huge shock if the same happened again, if Wijnaldum isn’t replaced.
The good news is that Liverpool are being linked to midfielders, but there’s a potential bargain who Klopp and Michael Edwards should absolutely look at.
Houssem Aouar is on the market for £20 million, 12 months after Lyon slapped a £45 million price-tag on him amid speculation that Arsenal were interested in bringing him to the Emirates Stadium.
And suffice to say that some fans of the Anfield club would love to have the 23-year-old midfielder on Merseyside for next season and beyond.
Here’s what they’ve been saying on social media:
No brainer?
A lot of Liverpool fans seem to think it’s a no-brainer, but is it? Well, yes. Yes it is.
Aouar didn’t have a brilliant 2020-21 campaign following his botched move to Arsenal but make no mistake, this is an immense talent and at 23, is only going to get much better.
Cast your mind back to 2018 when Manchester City played Lyon in the Champions League.
Pep Guardiola’s side drew 2-2 to reach the last 16 of the competition but instead of praising his own players, the Spanish coach gushed over the talents of Aouar.
The Manchester City boss labelled the midfielder – then only 20 – as incredible and said this to Sky Sports on the night: “Houssem Aouar is a very good player. He is incredible. We talk a lot about Ndombele, but Aouar is also excellent. He’s always very calm with the ball at his feet, with an excellent technical quality.”
Thiago 2.0?
Some Liverpool fans might argue that composure and exquisite ‘technical ability’ is already covered by a certain Thiago Alcantara in the Reds’ midfield – and they would be right to a certain extent.
But when a player like Aouar is available for £20 million – or perhaps even less – and when he’s going to be working under one of the sport’s finest coaches, it could be an absolute steal by Edwards.
God knows that the club’s director of football has pulled off his fair share of bargains, but when a talent of this vintage is available for what Crystal Palace have just spent on signing Marc Guehi from Chelsea then it could, in years to come, be remembered as Edwards’s finest piece of business to date, relative to Aouar’s potential.
Taking a shortcut cost Liverpool last summer when they elected against replacing Lovren. It would be inexplicable to not replace Wijnaldum – but even more so if Aouar isn’t even considered.
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