After one of the strangest transfer stories of the year emerged, Liverpool could be signing free agent defender Daryl Janmaat.
Liverpool are in a desperate situation when it comes to their injury crisis at the back, and desperate times call for desperate measures.
The Reds may well have to dip into the free agent market to solve their ongoing problems, and Georginio Wijnaldum has reportedly recommended one of his former teammates.
Indeed, rumours are circulating that the midfielder has told Liverpool to look into the prospect of signing his former Newcastle compatriot Daryl Janmaat.
On the surface this seems like something of a strange suggestion. Janmaat was relegated lasts season with Watford and no club has looked to snap him up on a free, but when you look at his stats alongside Wijnaldum at Newcastle you begin to understand why the midfielder rates him so highly.
The 31-year-old may have tasted relegation with the Magpies in the 2015/16 season, but on a personal basis, he had a great year.
Janmaat averaged an incredible 2.5 tackles per game and 1.8 interceptions per game.
Although he plays a very different role to either Joe Gomez or Virgil van Dijk, it’s worth noting that those numbers are higher than the two Liverpool centre-halves averaged last season.
The Dutch international also averaged 2.6 clearances per game, and his ball playing wasn’t all that bad either, averaging 0.8 key passes per game.
Now, we’re not going to argue that Janmaat is the answer to Liverpool’s prayers, he’s a right-back that has been relegated twice from the Premier League, but he clearly knows how to defend and he’s available for free.
He’s not a terrible player, after all, he has Netherlands caps to his name, and he’d be a perfectly acceptably stop-gap for Jurgen Klopp while his star men are out injured.
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