It would surprise precisely nobody if Jurgen Klopp decided to upgrade his left-back options as soon as possible.
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly where Jurgen Klopp lost faith with Alberto Moreno.
Perhaps it stemmed from his inability to track, or even see, Fernandinho drifting down the flank to score the opener for Manchester City in the League Cup final. Perhaps it was his brainless buffoonery in the Europa League decider three months later. Or maybe it was the season opener against Arsenal where he clumsily brought down Theo Walcott for a penalty, saw Simon Mignolet his blushes with an excellent save, and then immediately after allow the England winger in to score.
Perhaps it’s a combination of all three.
Either way, it’s no surprise to see Liverpool heavily linked with Schalke left-back Sead Kolasinac, as reported by talkSPORT, even with James Milner performing admirably in a very unfamiliar berth. The 23-year-old Bosnian has put a horrific cruciate ligament injury behind him to become arguably Schalke’s most essential attacking player this season, scoring twice and assisting four more in the Bundesliga already.
But Liverpool fans don’t care about that. They’ve got Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino, Adam Lallana and co to share the goals around. What they want is a defender. You know, one who actually pays attention to opposition forwards streaking past him in cup finals.
So how does Kolasinac add up? Well for a start, the Bosnian has made not made a single major defensive error in the Bundesliga since the start of last season, according to Squawka. Furthermore, Kolasinac averaged fewer missed tackles per 90 minutes, plus more blocks, clearances and interceptions than Moreno last season.
Furthermore, as recorded by WhoScored, the improvements in Kolasinac’s game are not limited to his attacking contributions. His tackles per game have increased from 2 to 2.1 while interceptions have ascended from 1.7 to a whopping 2.9.
Moreno? The figures plummet to 0.6 for tackles and a non-existent 0.2 for interceptions. That’s what happens when you spend the majority of the game out of position.
So now you see why Liverpool are so keen on Kolasinac, right?
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