Will Lucas injury spark Liverpool’s transfer dealing into life?

Follow us on Google Discover

Such a big loss could mean Liverpool will look for cover for the Brazilian.

With Lucas Leiva on the sidelines for up to two months, Liverpool are going to be forced to act in some capacity – whether that just goes for Brendan Rodgers revamping the middle of the park on the field, or those off the field bringing in another individual to fill the void.

For those that watch Liverpool closely, you would probably say the middle of the park does need a player with a degree more strength and aggression, which could be best suited to the holding role to make the middle of the park a lot more solid. The statistic below shows how capable the Brazilian is at breaking up the play out of all of the midfielders.

Here is another statistic that shows Lucas’ importance. For a side that tries to press and win the ball high up the field, the amount of interceptions and attacks that have been stopped by the Brazilian seems fairly large, especially compared with the rest of the midfielders.

Joe Allen looks the most natural option within the squad to fill in having played in the role in a couple of games in December when Lucas was on the bench before Steven Gerrard pulled up with a hamstring strain, and the Welshman has shown he is capable of putting in an accomplished display in a defensive role.

But Brendan Rodgers seems to want Gerrard to play a lot more in the defensive role and he may well be the preferred option for the Reds boss – a plan which went awry in Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Aston Villa at Anfield which could lead to some questions about whether Liverpool will strengthen at all, but the first half performance seems to have put a seed of doubt in the Liverpool manager’s mind.

So, the logical thing is that Liverpool will have to look for a defensive midfielder who can come into the side in absence of Lucas – Nigel De Jong has been amongst those linked with the club.

But Liverpool fans will hope it has forced the hierarchy into splashing the cash in what has been a very quiet window this season as it could threaten to derail Liverpool’s prospects of Champions League football.

As a team the Reds have looked stronger with an accomplished defensive player in that role who can also play a good first time ball out of defence.

It has been a quiet window for Liverpool, but there is so much at stake this season and with the league so tight, you think it would be silly if they don’t attempt to bring in reinforcements.

image: © faisalzaman