Go For It Klopp: Liverpool Should Beat Arsenal To The Signature Of This £71m Rated Midfielder

Why Thomas Lemar Should Snub Arsenal And Chelsea To Join Liverpool In January

Liverpool are reportedly edging closer to a January swoop for AS Monaco star Thomas Lemar. Over the summer, he rose to international fame after his heroic exploits in the UEFA Champions League. His displays were so powerful that a host of elite European clubs started battling to acquire his services.

However, the player could ultimately complete a move to Anfield in January if Jurgen Klopp plays his cards right and meets Monaco’s asking price of £62m – £71m. Landing Lemar would prove to be a massive statement of intent and a player like him could do wonder for the Reds’ attack.

With the January window coming up, there are also a lot of rumours swirling about, suggesting Philippe Coutinho could leave Liverpool. The Brazilian playmaker has been linked with a number of clubs but Barcelona are believed to be front-runners. If the Catalans end up signing their long-term target, Klopp will face a serious shortage of creative options up front. This is where Thomas Lemar can come in.

Lemar played a crucial part in a Monaco side that pulled off a miraculous Ligue 1 title win last season. He displayed superior skills of pace and creativity and the Frenchman has a good sense of defensive awareness as well. He is still quite young, meaning he will prove to be a long-term buy and can adjust to the Premier League’s style of play fairly easily. In fact, more than Arsenal and Chelsea, Lemar is likely to fit seamlessly into Liverpool’s current system.

At present, Klopp setup at Anfield stresses upon having players that can cover the box-to-box distance with ease. Given Lemar’s pace, that should be no problem for him. Movement in the final third is equally important for Klopp and Lemar does boast of quick decision-making on the field, which often translates to effective outputs.

Also, the Reds are known to have players move around a lot during build-up play to either cover up the gaps or exploit them – depending on the situation. Lemar’s positional awareness is quite strong; he knows where to move at what time to do what and that could be a massive boost for Liverpool.

Hence, if Coutinho were to leave, Lemar seems like an ideal option to replace him. Even if the Brazilian chose to stay back, the duo could provide Klopp greater flexibility to experiment with his midfield options to figure out the best way to utilise both players. Moreover, if either Sadio Mane or Mohamed Salah were to pick up injuries, the German manager would have quality options to make do with.