Liverpool may have to get creative in the upcoming two transfer windows since their midfield needs a significant renovation. Kopites will disagree on the precise number of players the Reds require for the center of the team, but at this time, “many” is unquestionably a valid claim.
The cost of acquiring the necessary players will be high, and it doesn’t appear that a sale in Philippe Coutinho’s price range will be helpful either. As a result, no bargain should be disregarded right away.
According to Calciomercato, Liverpool might trade Adrien Rabiot, a French midfielder whose contract expires at the conclusion of this season, for Kostas Tsimikas. The Greek left-back for the Reds has proven to be a fine replacement for Andy Robertson, but he is not indispensable enough to make a transfer impossible.But is he valuable enough to trade up to get Rabiot? The 27-year-old is unquestionably in excellent form right now. In his previous eight appearances for club and country, he has scored one and assisted on another, giving him a total of four goals and three assists. On Tuesday, France defeated Australia 4-1. This recent run is unquestionably an increase in his output, as he has contributed to an average of about five goals per season during the course of his career.
One of the cardinal laws of the transfer market is to hold off on making a hasty acquisition of a player who performs admirably in an international competition. Liverpool are too astute to overreact to Rabiot’s recent run of success. However, his contribution to France’s second goal was undoubtedly noteworthy.
The French number 14 received a ball, dribbled into the area, and squared for Olivier Giroud to score by pressuring a defender into relinquishing possession. Rabiot was one of six World Cup players to successfully complete a ball carry that resulted in an assist on day three (per The Analyst).
His issue is that he does not often enough exhibit this ᴀɢɢʀᴇssɪᴠᴇ verve. His forward passing statistics are unimpressive for a French international who has spent his whole career at Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus, even though he is a more defensively focused midfielder by profession.
Rabiot, for example, ranks in the lowest 16 percent of midfielders in England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain for long passes attempted during the past year (per FBRef). Of course, if the manager instructs you to play it safe, there is nothing wrong with doing so; in ғᴀᴄᴛ, the manager’s completion rate for long balls is one of his stronger stats.
But in terms of passes into the final third and progressive passing distance, the Frenchman ranks in the bottom 31% of his positional counterparts in the major leagues. Rabiot is in a position where he could surely help Juventus move the ball up the field, but he doesn’t particularly do so.
His findings do contain some encouraging aspects. He has many tackle metrics within his better stats and is good in the air, which is crucial in the Premier League. Being a member of a team with many high turnovers—ball recoveries in the final 40 meters of the field—and having tackles in the attacking third as their fourth-best stat suggest a player who might fit Liverpool. However, the lack of athleticism has frequently been mentioned as a disadvantage, and it is already a problem for the middle of the Reds.
While it would be unwise to believe everything you read in gossip magazines, Rabiot’s mother, who also serves as his agent, has a dubious reputation. Ibrahima Konate, the player’s international teammate, might have firsthand knowledge, but for Jurgen Klopp, team spirit is crucial, therefore risking it wouldn’t be an option. Rabiot could be able to help Liverpool with one or two issues, but trading Tsimikas to get him might only create additional issues elsewhere.