Liverpool will make a new central midfielder their top priority in the summer transfer window but PSV Eindhoven’s Ibrahim Sangare lacks the ball-playing ability to shine at the Premier League giants, former Dutch international Hedwiges Maduro tells Voetbal International.
With both Jude Bellingham and Enzo Fernandez potentially moving out of Liverpool’s reach – Borussia Dortmund and Benfica are likely to demand in excess of £100 million for both – Jurgen Klopp and co may need to think outside the box while casting their net that little bit wider.
Moises Caicedo, perhaps, even if he too will cost a princely sum. Talks with Fiorentina’s World Cup battleaxe Sofyan Amrabat have already taken place (Sky).
The £35 million-rated Sangare, meanwhile, will come far cheaper than Bellingham, Fernandez and even Caicedo (VI). But, according to Maduro, what the Ivory Coast colossus possesses in affordability, he lacks in suitability.
PSV’s Ibrahim Sangare is one of the midfielders on Liverpool’s radar
“I like Sangare, and actually every team needs such a player. A real ball winner,” the former Valencia and Ajax ace says of 25-year-old Sangare, who played alongside Cody Gakpo in the Netherlands. “They ensure that others can play football better. I really appreciate that.
“It sounds crazy but, in the Premier League, he would come into his own better than here. If the spaces are small, then he gets into the duels more and he can conquer the football. Then Sangare comes into his own. In that powerful football of the Premier League, he fits well.
“(But) I think he will end up just below the top clubs. Because top clubs such as Manchester City and Liverpool require an even higher speed of action on the ball. ”
Sangare is no ankle-bruising plodder. His pass completion rate stands at a respectable 84 per cent, while he’s made big improvements in his use of the ball at PSV (WhoScored). But neither does he possess the zip or the line-breaking ability of a Fernandez or a Caicedo. Amrabat, too, showed during Morocco’s stunning run to the World Cup semi-finals, that he can turn defence into attack in an instant with those slaloming, N’Golo Kante-style bursts of acceleration.
In addition to Liverpool, Sangare has been linked with the likes of Nottingham Forest, West Ham and Leicester City. The former Toulouse ace turned down Everton and Southampton, meanwhile, before joining PSV in 2020.
“There was English interest,” explains former Dutch international Kiki Musampa, the brither of Sangare’s agent.
“Southampton wanted him, but he didn’t think it was the right club. Everton also wanted him, but he also had doubts about that. Those are clubs that are not safe in the Premier League. The danger of relegation is great.”
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