With things on the pitch not quite going to plan for Liverpool this season, the last thing Jurgen Klopp needed was some rather unwelcome distractions of it too.
Just months after replacing iconic sporting director Michael Edwards, Julian Ward ‘shocked’ the Anfield bosses by announcing his intention to walk away at the end of the current campaign (The Guardian).
Given the triumphs Liverpool have enjoyed under Edwards and Ward, rumoured successor Sven Mislintat would certainly arrive with big boots to fill. According to Sky Sports, Klopp may be reunited with a man who shared in his success at Borussia Dortmund, with Mislintat in line for a return to English football three years after a difficult spell at Arsenal came to an end.
Mislintat, who left Stuttgart earlier on Wednesday, was known as ‘Diamond Eye’ at Dortmund due to his penchant for unearthing cubic zironas of the ‘rough’ variety.
But what can Liverpool expect from Klopp’s former right-hand man? Which players will he look to bring with him to Merseyside? Here are five potential Mislintat targets to keep an eye on.
Ron-Robert Zieler – Hannover
With Adrian’s contract expiring in the summer, Liverpool are in the market for a new back-up goalkeeper. And Zieler, a World Cup winner with Germany in 2014, ticks a lot of boxes. He is experienced, reliable and, having spent time in Manchester United’s academy, counts as ‘homegrown’, as far as the Premier League is concerned.
BILD say that Zieler, who also had a brief spell at Leicester City, could return for a third spell in English football in 2023.
“He has played (himself) into focus,” Hannover coach Stefan Leitl said at the start of November. “It’s a nice rumour to associate Hannover 96 with Liverpool.”
Zieler has never played for a Mislintat team. But he’s still a very familiar face to the former Dortmund and Stuttgart shot-stopper.
Patrick Drewes – SV Sandhausen
If Zieler cannot be lured away from Hannover – the Bundesliga.2 outfit are likely to trigger the extension clause in his contract – then Liverpool could turn to another shot-stopper currently plying his trade in Germany’s second tier.
Patrick Drewes, a 29-year-old fixture of the lower leagues, is in the form of his life at SV Sandhausen. And while Liverpool would be in no position to offer him first-team football, the chance to don the colours of a bonafide European giant is likely to hold plenty of appeal for a one-time FC Wil and Preussen Munster man.
Per BILD, Liverpool are already in talks with Drewes’ camp.
Silas – Stuttgart
Despite boating more attacking talent than most Premier League managers could only dream of, Jurgen Klopp is hoping to add another glittering gem to his treasure trove of forward options. But with Cody Gakpo expected to link up with Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United instead and with Marcus Thuram a man in such high demand, Liverpool may have to cast their net a little wider.
Now, Silas has endured his fair share of injury problems of late but a stellar breakthrough season in 2020/21 is proof of what the former Paris FC wonderkid can do when fit and firing. Quick, versatile and boasting so many of the attributes Klopp looks for in an attacker; Silas’ 13 goals and five assists earned him the Bundesliga Young Player of the Year award 18 months ago.
“(Silas has a) massive engine. (He is) extremely fast. Strong. And his mentality and is to learn every single day,” Mislintat said of a player he worked with at Stuttgart.
“You see it already in how he behaves defensively. He has to deal with a lot of defensive work. And how he adapted to that in the 18 months, it’s incredible. This is special.”
Jude Bellingham – Borussia Dortmund
Arguably Europe’s next best central midfielder was only 14 years old when Mislintat left Dortmund for Arsenal in 2017. Five years on, Bellingham is now the cornerstone of England’s World Cup campaign. And, despite a rumoured £85 million price-tag, the number one target to strengthen Liverpool’s ageing midfield (Athletic).
With Manchester United, Chelsea and Real Madrid also chasing this 19-going-on-29-year-old maestro, Liverpool may need all the help they can get ahead of perhaps the most hotly-contested transfer battle of recent windows.
Maybe Mislintat’s connections at the Signal Iduna Park could act as a trump card up Liverpool’s sleeve.
Bellingham is not the only Dortmund whizzkid on Liverpool’s radar either…
Youssoufa Moukoko – Borussia Dortmund
Unlike the former Birmingham City talisman, Moukoko was a Dortmund player during Mislintat’s time with Die Schwarzgelben. His potential availability, then, is unlikely to go unnoticed by the reportedly-Anfield-bound talentspotter. Especially with Moukoko yet to extend a contract which is due to expire in less than 12 months time.
“His first footprints (in senior football) are fantastic,” Mislintat says of the 18-year-old, who has six Bundesliga games for Dortmund this season while helping BVB adapt to life post-Erling Haaland.
“(Moukoko) is super special.”
BILD say that Moukoko is, alongside Bellingham, a player with plenty of admirers at Liverpool.
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