Speculation is building that Liverpool might be interested in a move for Aurelien Tchouameni.
Tuttosport have reported that Monaco are expecting Liverpool to bid for their 21-year-old midfielder.
The three-time France international is a holding midfielder and the Reds already have an unbelievable one of those in the form of Fabinho.
And whisper it, but Tchouameni could be even better than the Brazilian powerhouse in the years to come.
Comparison
There’s no doubt that Fabinho is a superior footballer at the moment but, remember, the Liverpool man is 27 – six years older than Tchouameni.
The interesting thing is when Fabinho was 21, Tchouameni was arguably the better player and that’s such an exciting thought for whoever winds up signing the Frenchman.
Fabinho was also a Monaco player when he was Tchouameni’s age but the latter boasts better statistics across a number of metrics, according to WhoScored.
If you compare the youngster’s last season to the Fabinho’s 2014-15 campaign in France, the Tchouameni of 2020-21 bested him in terms of tackles, aerial duels won, blocks and passing success [82.8% v 81.5%].
And for a defensive midfielder, these are very significant metrics.
Tchouameni also won eight Man of the Match awards for Monaco in Ligue 1 last season, compared to two for Fabinho in 2014-15.
None of this is an exact science and in spite of the Liverpool speculation, Tchouameni might fail to develop and grow stagnant, which does happen.
We can say Fabinho is a better player now, but the 21-year-old certainly looks to have been a better footballer than the Brazil international at the same age and that must be hugely encouraging for statistical boffins on Jurgen Klopp’s recruitment team at Anfield.
When Tchouameni is 27, he could be better than Fabinho is now and how very exciting that would be.
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