When it comes to the summer transfer market for Liverpool, there is not much margin for error. Jörg Schmadtke needs to deliver at least another midfielder after Alexis Mac Allister and hopefully another defender as well.
But adding another body in attack should not be out of the question. Indeed, Jürgen Klopp did not rule it out heading into the summer when he was asked about the priorities.
The departure of Roberto Firmino on a free transfer does leave something of a vacancy in the squad. It is a spot that may not be a priority to fill considering the plethora of options in attack and the fact that both the defense and the midfield will need to be addressed first in the transfer market, but it will leave a hole nonetheless.
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And as this season showed, not filling up vacant positions in the squad is like not treating a decaying tooth: the problem will only spread later until eventually, you require surgery. Fortunately for Liverpool, though, there might be an easy fix to solve the problem.
The Austrian Bundesliga may not be the most prestigious league in world football, but recently it has kick-started the career of the likes of Erling Haaland, Sadio Mané, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Karim Adeyemi.
Mostly, the Austrian league produces players from Red Bull Salzburg. It’s also where Liverpool purchased from. But it’s not just Salzburg recently who has started to snap up talent. The latest sensation in the Austrian Bundesliga doesn’t play for Red Bull in Keito Nakamura and Liverpool should look to emulate their previous transfer for Takumi Minamino in order to bring him to the club and fill Firmino’s void.
The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath reported in March that Liverpool is interested in the exciting attacker, and has sent scouts to observe him throughout the season. Now, the Daily Mail reports that Borussia Dortmund and Aston Villa have joined Liverpool in the race for his signature, also adding: ‘As well as his elevation to becoming a full international, Wednesday’s loosening of the Governing Body Criteria (GBE) criteria for foreign players coming to England (making it easier to attain a visa) has improved his hopes of being able to secure a move to the Premier League should any of his suitors firm up their interest’.
Just 22 years old, Nakamura has just had a season where he scored 17 times and assisted eight. Currently plying his trade for LASK in Austria, he is ready for the next step.
Nakamura typically plays on the left wing for LASK, but in the past, he has also played on the right and in central areas as well which makes him fairly versatile in the mold of someone like Minamino. But comparisons with Minamino end there, because while the former Liverpool attacker was more technically gifted, Nakamura definitely is more explosive and more suited to playing in a typical Jürgen Klopp attack.
In general, Nakamura initially may only take on Minamino’s role in the squad at Anfield, which has also been left vacant since last summer, but he could have more longevity at the club because of his suitability to the way Klopp likes to play. As well as being explosive and excellent in one vs one situations, Nakamura is also a player who likes to defend from the front, and has good defensive numbers for an attacker.
The fact that he plays for LASK as well rather than Salzburg, who is able to command a much higher fee for its star players these days in comparison to the release clause Liverpool paid to land Minamino, also gives Liverpool an advantage. LASK’s record sale to date was $3.73m (£3.14/€3.5m). Nakamura will likely exceed that but not by much considering he only has two years left on his contract, and the fact that LASK cannot command the same fees as their rivals Salzburg.
This would make him a smart choice for Liverpool. Sure, he won’t be able to produce the same quality as Firmino, but he will fill his slot in the squad and based on his performances could be quite a gem and a useful member of Klopp’s team. While at his age, even if the transfer doesn’t work out, Liverpool stands to make a profit just like the club did with Minamino.
It’s a win-win situation for Liverpool, and the club would be smart to follow up on its interest this summer with a formal bid in order to lure the Japanese star to Anfield.
An original version of this article was first published on March 8.