Liverpool could sign their own Wirtz in "exceptional" 21m star

Liverpool have officially entered the post-Jurgen Klopp era and while little noise has left Anfield over these past few days, Michael Edwards, FSG‘s CEO of Football, is bound to be working tirelessly to strengthen Arne Slot‘s squad.

A third-place finish in the Premier League saw Liverpool restore their place among Europe’s elite but fall short in the title race. The Carabao Cup was clinched but the Reds were defeated by eventual winners Manchester United and Atalanta in the FA Cup and the Europa League.

All told the 2023/24 season was a success, but the right moves must be made over the coming weeks and months to close the gap between themselves and Manchester City and Arsenal and assemble a squad capable of winning the Champions League.

Improvements are being targeted across different positions but it’s no secret that Liverpool are pursuing a new wide forward, with a fresh name emerging.

Liverpool transfer news

According to French publication Sports Zone, Liverpool are set to tussle with divisional rivals Tottenham Hotspur for the signing of Lyon winger Rayan Cherki, who is hopeful to earn a move away from the Ligue 1 outfit this summer.

Paris Saint-Germain are also attentive to the 20-year-old’s situation but are not believed to hold the same level of interest as the English sides at this stage.

Said to be valued at €25m (£21m) by Lyon, Cherki is out of contract in one year and thus would mark a shrewd move from the Reds, should they accelerate their interest in the coming weeks.

Rayan Cherki’s season in numbers

Cherki is scarcely into his promising professional career but he has already completed 141 matches for Lyon after graduating from the academy, scoring 17 goals and supplying 25 assists.

This season, despite a woeful start to the year from both the player and his club, Cherki managed to tally three goals and nine assists from 39 appearances across all competitions, featuring in every offensive role possible.

Former manager Rudi Garcia described the dynamo as a “player with exceptional qualities“, with his protean, multi-faceted threat setting him in good stead to earn a move to Liverpool, especially given Slot’s need to sign wide forwards.

A wonderful playmaker, Cherki is principally a right-sided forward, and while he has plenty of gears to shift through before reaching his peak, there is a superabundance of talent on display that has seemingly arrested Liverpool’s interest ahead of a potential summer transfer.

Rayan Cherki’s style of play

Born to play football. It’s a hackneyed phrase, worn and wearied by time, like a pair of boots long confined to the spare kit box in a school gymnasium, but it carries truth and is aptly applied to the skill set of Cherki.

He’s a showman. An entertainer. Dig deep enough on social media and one will find a litany of complaints that football has lost its sparkle, its gleam. It has been argued that the modern-day game has seen immensely talented stars hammered into machine-like cogs, all just part of the hive-mind behemoth that football has ostensibly morphed into.

Cherki refutes that notion. Free and furious in his football, the Frenchman has been said to possess “Ballon d’Or level potential” by analyst Ben Mattinson, with his breezy gait and slick dribbling qualities drawing comparisons to players such as Lionel Messi.

Indeed, as per FBref, the 5 foot 9 starlet ranks among the top 10% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 7% for shot-creating actions, the top 9% for passes attempted, the top 3% for progressive passes and the top 1% for successful take-ons per 90.

Let’s elucidate on those metrics. Cherki is proving himself to be one of Europe’s most creative young players, enjoying plenty of assists but backing up such success with unrelenting playmaking numbers, namely his shot-creating actions and his progressive passing.

Moreover, he ranks among the top 1% of positional peers for successful take-ons, meaning that he is indeed one of the best in the business at beating his man with the ball at his feet.

His skill set has earned him some interesting player comparisons, with Tottenham Hotspur’s James Maddison offering a similar game as per FBref, but more excitingly Bayer Leverkusen phenomenon Florian Wirtz – a reported target of Liverpool’s – is deemed a player of comparable ability and playing style.

Wirtz was named the German Bundesliga’s Player of the Season for the 2023/24 campaign as Xabi Alonso’s side won the title undefeated, also triumphing in the DFB-Pokal. Having scored 18 goals and added 20 assists in all competitions, he’s a deserved recipient.

Dubbed “the mastermind” by Kulig, the 21-year-old ranks among the top 8% of positional peers for goals, the top 1% for assists and the top 2% for shot-creating actions and the top 1% for progressive passes per 90, highlighting the technical, ball-focused prowess that makes him a similar star to that of Cherki.

Wirtz clearly enjoyed the superior season, but Cherki fought within a struggling Lyon side that only found its feet during the latter half of the season, unsurprisingly coinciding with the attacking midfielder’s personal upswing in form.

Cherki has successfully showcased his ability despite the turbulence of Lyon’s campaign and now he is hoping to progress his career at a team like Liverpool, which could offer him a place on the right wing as Mohamed Salah’s understudy, bolstered by the knowledge that he could fire his way into a regular starting berth, with the 31-year-old Egyptian out of contract in one year.

He’s got bundles of ability and he’s proven himself capable of weathering harsh storms. For £21m, surely he’s worth a punt.

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