Liverpool’s Emre Can received the wonderful news that he was called up to the senior German side for the first time. The 21-year-old has been an inspired signing for the Reds and the call-up doesn’t surprise Liverpool fans. After all, he could be attributed as the only positive of the nightmare that was last season.
Can was purchased for £9.8m from Bayer Leverkusen. In Liverpool’s £117m transfer spree last year, the young German was the only one who could be labelled a genuine success (Alberto Moreno needs to prove himself further).
Can spent three years in Eintracht Frankfurt’s youth teams before joining Bayern Munich’s youth academy in 2009. In 2011, he progressed up the ranks and was called up to Bayern Munich II, the club’s reserve team which plays in the lower divisions. Naturally, at a club like Bayern Munich, it was going to be difficult for the player to get inside the senior team and so the Bavarian giants decided to sell him to Bayer Leverkusen with a buy-back clause in 2015. The player impressed at Leverkusen and Liverpool quickly swooped in for him. Bayern were keen on making Can stay at Leverkusen for another year and then get him back in the summer of 2015, but Liverpool and the player came into agreement quickly and the young German came to the Premier League.
Dubbed heir apparent to Steven Gerrard, the 21-year-old has made an incredible impact at Merseyside since Brendan Rodgers brought him on for Kolo Toure against Burnley in December 2014.
Can is extremely versatile and played as a central defender and a right-back for Liverpool last season. His ideal position is in the midfield but he has operated pretty much everywhere in his young career. In four appearances for Liverpool this season, Brendan Rodgers – true to his word – has played him in the midfield. The German did well in all his substitute appearances, but was quite poor against West Ham United.
Can has been characterized as a defensive midfielder, but is actually more box-to-box in nature, and we could perhaps put him in the “deep lying playmaker” category. He is more Xabi Alonso than Javier Mascherano. The German likes to thrust forward a lot and his relatively weaker positioning sense could leave the defence unguarded. He can drive forward the attack by either the use of an array of passes he possesses (his passing game is quite extraordinary indeed), or by thrusting towards the final third himself. He makes his own space and can drift into dangerous positions. With Can sitting in front of the defence, the back four also have the important short passing option which helps the team keep the ball more. His presence also bolsters the physicality of the team and his energetic presence can help the side dominate the heart of the pitch centrally.
“Emre needs a few more years and he could play for any team in the world,” said Liverpool coach Brendan Rodgers. “He is aggressive and fast and does the dirty work as well. You can see his intelligence in every position he plays.”
While this is a big compliment paid to him by his coach, Emre Can’s only big drawback right now is his versatility. Multi-functionality can become a curse for a footballer as he needs to master one position, especially at such a developing and young age. Can’s versatility could well go on to to inhibit his progress as a player.
Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers need to figure out exactly what position brings out all the strengths in Can’s games. Even if it is as a central defender – he already has Jamie Carragher’s number, he might as well go on and emulate another club legend – the club must make sure he plays in that position and establishes himself.
Despite his shambolic performance against West Ham, the best place for him on the pitch remains the midfield. Besides, the problem against West Ham was also the fact that Liverpool’s midfield comprised Lucas, James Milner and Can. This was a very defensive minded trio and the former Leverkusen man looked like he was unsure of what role he was supposed to play in this situation. Against Arsenal, the threat of Ozil, Cazorla and Sanchez had to be curtailed and this midfield did extremely well in ensuring that the Gunners didn’t find it easy to penetrate and move towards their defenders, but against West Ham, a more attacking approach was needed. A midfield trio of Emre Can, Jordan Henderson and James Milner is something Brendan Rodgers needs to field on more occasions. In such a set-up, Can would sit the deepest which would allow Jordan Henderson and James Milner to drive forward with ease.
To sum up, Emre Can possesses enough talent to become a star in the Germany and Liverpool team in the near future, but he needs to really establish himself and not become either side’s utility man.