According to a report in Metro, Liverpool are supposed to be monitoring young German-born Turkish star Tolga Cigerci. The 21-year old is currently on loan Hertha Berlin from Wolfsburg, and Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is said to be interested in making a move for the midfielder in the summer.
The young midfielder is a product of the Wolfsburg youth academy and is a German Youth Champion with Wolfsburg U19 side in 2010-11 season. He has played 89 games for Wolfsburg at various youth levels, scoring 16 and assisting 4, till the 2010-11 season. During this time, he has also made 8 appearances for the German national youth teams, scoring 1 goal.
Following that, he made a €350,000 loan switch to Borussia Monchengladbach, where he made 25 appearances in two seasons, scoring 2 goals and assisting 1. That included 5 appearances in last season’s Europa League where he managed to get on the score sheet once.
This season, he has been loaned out to Hertha Berlin for €300,000, and has made 13 appearances for the capital side, scoring one goal and creating another so far. It is widely expected that Hertha will attempt to try and make a permanent move for the player in the summer. Hertha coach Jos Luhukay is a big admirer of the young star saying:
”[He is] constantly on the move, dynamic, technically good.”
With the player’s contract set to expire in the summer of 2015, Liverpool will be able to sign the youngster on the cheap, but they will possibly have to outbid the Germans. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers should be able to offer the player a fair chance at making it into the first team on a regular basis given the lack of squad depth and frequent injury concerns that Liverpool have in that department.
Cigerci is a defensive midfielder by trade and at well over six foot tall, he can bring power and strength to Liverpool’s midfield, something that has been lacking. However, with Liverpool looking likely to qualify for the Champions League, there are doubts whether the youngster has the quality necessary to cut it at Liverpool.
The links are just rumors at the moment, and the move may not happen at all, but in case the move does go ahead, Liverpool must be wary of not committing the same mistake they did for the likes of Tiago Ilori, Luis Alberto and Iago Aspas last summer, who have all failed to make a mark on the English game.
Stats Source: TransferMarkt
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