Liverpool’s losing run has been blamed on an injury to one man, the once derided Brazilian, Lucas.
Liverpool are currently experiencing one of their most depressing runs in recent memory, slipping to eighth behind local rivals Everton, losing three games in succession just when manager Kenny Dalglish said they were going to go on a winning streak.
Their failure of late, which can still be given a positive shine with FA Cup success, has summed up by one damning statistic which exposes Liverpool’s soft core.
The Liverpool player who has made the most amount of tackles this season is Lucas. He has been out since November.
It says a lot (a) about the form Lucas was in that he remains one of their top performers, but importantly (b) that Liverpool have nobody capable of replacing him, with midfielders Jordan Henderson and Jay Spearing falling well short of the Brazilian’s exemplary standards.
So while Lucas will of course return next season, Liverpool need to act to ensure if a similar scenario happens again, they are not caught short without a replacement, or even a sidekick to share the pressure.
Who would be the perfect man to sign?
Ex-Liverpool man Javier Mascherano of course. Except he is happy at Barcelona. He has started 39 games this season, and is not likely to want to swap guaranteed success at Barcelona for a return to a fragile Liverpool side in a worse state than he left it. One day perhaps, but not right now.
Mascherano besides, is ‘only’ the 39th most efficient tackler in Europe, according to statistics.
Above him is Sunderland’s red card prone Lee Cattermole, who makes 3.7 tackles per game, compared to Mascherano’s 3.6, and ranks 32nd in Europe.
Don’t tell Kenny Dalglish though- there is not a lot more to Cattermole’s game beyond tackling, apart from regular red cards, and based on Dalglish’s transfer record last summer, a £15 million transfer bid would be on the horizon if he discovers that statistic.
The only way most Liverpool fans would want to see Henderson and Cattermole reunited is if Jordan Henderson goes back to the Black Cats, but Liverpool seem stuck with him so should persist for the time being and find a role which suits him.
Mascherano meanwhile would likely rank higher if he spent more time playing in central midfield, in the thick of the action, but at Barcelona he has played nearly all his La Liga games this season at centre-back.
So who are the top tacklers in Europe?
Right at the top is French international midfielder Jeremy Toulalan, who averages 5.3 tackles per game who plays for Spanish side Malaga. He signed for the club last summer as part of Malaga’s spending spree, and as such Liverpool would be unlikely to secure his signature.
Another midfielder last summer which Liverpool missed out on is Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal, who is second in the European tackling rankings. He left Bayer Leverkusen for Italian side Juventus for just £10 million, and would have been a far better investment for Dalglish than Henderson. Juventus have gone onto have their most successful season this year since the 2006 match fixing scandal and are narrowly behind Milan in the race for the Serie A title, with Vidal playing 26 games and also scoring four goals.
In third, and a more attainable target for Liverpool this summer is Valon Behrami, formerly of West Ham. He currently plays for Fiorentina, who are unlikely to qualify for Europe next season, and again while he also just signed last summer, could be tempted by a return to England. The Swiss international may be a good partner for Lucas, or at the least a solid back-up.
Two Brazilian midfielders feature fourth and fifth in the list, Iriney- who plays for Betis but is 30, and Josue, 32 who plays for Wolfsburg, but both should be discounted as Liverpool targets due to their age.
Former Spanish under-21 international Javi Fuego features inside the top 10, and at 28, Liverpool could still get some good years out of him. He currently plays for Rayo Vallecano.
There is just one Premier League player who features inside Europe’s top 20, Alejandro Faurlin of QPR (11th) who has been injured since January. He is followed by Scott Parker, ranked 25th, who Liverpool also could have signed for just £5.5 million last summer.
Lassana Diarra, the Real Madrid midfielder and former Chelsea man sits above him in 21st- making an average of 3.9 successful tackles per game. He has made just 15 La Liga starts this season. Aged 27 he would be a perfect addition to bolster Liverpool’s midfield, and give the side a more solid feel.
He also has previous Premier League experience with Chelsea, Arsenal and Portsmouth, and would relish playing for a club with Liverpool’s prestige.
He would be available for around £15 million, and while Liverpool’s owners should rightly be sceptical about sanctioning such fees, Diarra would be worth every penny, in what he can bring to the club, and as a back up in case Lucas breaks down again or suffers complications in his rehabilitation.
Do you agree- is Diarra the man for Liverpool? Did Dalglish mess up by missing out on Toulalan and Vidal last summer? Is Cattermole a ridiculous option as it sounds? Tell us your views.
image: © Ben Sutherland
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