If we know one thing about Liverpool’s summer transfer plans it’s that they want a midfielder.
Georginio Wijnaldum looks as though he’ll be on his way out at the end of the season, and the Reds need somebody to replace him.
The likes of Renato Sanches and Florian Neuhaus have been linked, but the most recent, and perhaps the most interesting name that has cropped up is Yves Bissouma.
The idea of Bissouma coming into this Liverpool team is intriguing for a number of reasons, but one thing that should excite Reds supporters is the potential impact that his arrival could have on Thiago Alcantara.
Let’s be honest, the Spaniard has had something of an underwhelming first season with Liverpool.
Don’t get us wrong, he’s been fantastic at times, but the reality is that he’s not looked like the 8th best player in the world, which he was voted as back in 2020.
Thiago is at his best when he’s the focal point of the play, he should be in the middle of the park spraying passes left, right and centre and finding killer passes, but for some reason that side of his game has been stifled this season.
Indeed, his pass success rate is the lowest it’s been in the league since 2014/15, while he’s only had one season since leaving Barcelona where he was playing fewer key passes per game.
Why is this the case? One argument that could be made is that Thiago has been asked to do too much defensive work in this team to make up for the lack of work Wijnaldum has done in this area.
Thiago is averaging four-times as many tackles per game as the Dutchman and almost twice as many interceptions, and while Thiago is good enough to do this job, it does take away from the creativity in his game.
However, if Bissouma came into this side as a straight-swap for Wijnaldum, there’s reason to believe he’d immediately solve that problem.
The Malian has been described as a ‘bright spark’ by Jamie Carragher in the past, and when you look at his stats, it’s clear to see why the Liverpool legend rates the Brighton man.
The Malian averages 2.2 tackles per game more than Wijnaldum and over double the number of interceptions, and he does all of that without sacrificing other areas of the game where Wijnaldum flourishes.
Indeed, Bissouma averages just 0.1 key passes fewer than Wijnaldum a game, while he has fewer unsuccessful toucher per match and while he is dispossessed more often than the Dutchman, the difference in numbers is negligible.
If Bissouma came in, he would take some of the burden off of Thiago defensively while still contributing in the middle of the park for Liverpool in a similar style to Wijnaldum.
Bissouma’a arrival would allow Thiago to perhaps be a bit more creative and flex his style and flair at Anfield on a more regular basis.
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