67% Shot Accuracy – Is This PSV Winger The Perfect Replacement For Liverpool To Consider In Jan?

Jurgen Klopp is bound to be in a very tight corner regarding his attacking selections by the turn of the year, as the club will be without the services of Senegalese international forward Sadio Mane.

The 24-year-old is set to line up for the west African country at the 2017 African Cup of Nations in January and could miss up to 6 weeks of EPL action. His absence could deal a huge blow in Liverpool’s ambitions if a perfect replacement isn’t drafted to his position.

Within the present Liverpool rank, none fits the bill, and that has forced Klopp to look for suitable substitutes elsewhere. As a result, the club is keeping an eye on PSV Eindhoven’s right winger Luciano Narsingh, who has been identified as a potential cover for Sadio Mane.

The 26-year-old Netherlands international, like Sadio, is primarily a right footer whose favourite position is the right wing. However, unlike the former Southampton forward, Narsingh is a more versatile player who is able to comfortably play across all 3 positions on the forward line, and also on both sides of attacking midfield.

On that note, he will come as a very handy player for Klopp, not only as Mane’s temporary cover in January, but also as a multi-choice option in up to as much as 4 other positions. So, he adds some form of quality depth to the squad based on that.

Narsingh’s unrivalled versatility aside, how does he compare with the Liverpool right winger in other key inputs and outputs on the field of play?

In 11 Eredivisie appearances this term, he has scored once and assisted another 1. He started 7 of those games and completed only 2. Obviously, he isn’t the most important attacker over there at PSV, but he is by no means an average player.

Luciano Narsingh has created 15 chances and completed 19 of his attempted 31 dribbles. On an average, he has recorded 1.7 shots per game and has a shot accuracy of 67%. A key attribute of his is the ability to make key passes, and he has scored 84% pass accuracy thus far.

While the Dutch player, who also is of Indian descent, is also good when it comes to crosses and dribbles, he has poor defensive contributions as his major Achilles heel.

Now, let’s take a look at the stats of whom he could be temporarily replacing at Anfield. In 11 EPL games, all starts and failing to finish only 2, Mane has had a hand in 8 goals for Liverpool, scoring 6 and assisting 2. He averages 2.5 shots per game and has a 65% shot accuracy.

The 24-year-old has created 16 chances and completed 33 of his 55 attempted take ons. He has recorded 78% average pass accuracy and averages 1 defensive action per game. He is a great dribbler and a speedster with no noticeable weaknesses.

Considering all this, the PSV player just doesn’t come anyway near Mane, but he sure has a lot of potentials to have attracted Klopp in the first place. Luciano Narsingh might provide a decent cover in the absence of Sadio Mane, but he isn’t the perfect replacement.

Is there even one out there?