Liverpool have just been shown perfect $53m January transfer midfield fix for FSG as ‘price set’
Liverpool could disrupt a midfielder’s contract talks this January, with the transfer fee having been set at $53m for an ideal FSG and Jürgen Klopp signing.
Liverpool’s midfield problem is becoming more and more prevalent and concerning as the weeks go by. It was clear from last summer that there was a lack of depth in Jürgen Klopp’s squad in that department, but the season has exposed it and highlighted it even further.
Liverpool have been too vulnerable in midfield. They haven’t won enough challenges and have been easily carved open time and time again. It’s cost them points and results and it has prevented them from really being able to control games, and that’s a huge concern.
Liverpool aspire to be in the Champions League next season, but there is now a genuine possibility of Klopp and his side missing out on Europe’s elite competition if the problems persist. Unless the club’s recruitment team act, the issues are unlikely to go away.
Which is why the January transfer window presents the club with the perfect opportunity to put a band aid on Liverpool’s wound, and while it’s always a difficult market to operate in, there are some players who could be available — and available for a decent price as well.
One of those is AC Milan holding midfielder, Ismaël Bennacer. He might be signing a new contract with AC Milan, as per Di Marzio, but he will have a release clause worth $53m (€50m/£44m). Given his age and profile, having proven himself in the Serie A and the Champions League, that is a really good price for a player of his ilk.
It’s important to note that the contract hasn’t been signed, the release clause won’t be active until 2024, and that there was already a similar clause set to come into effect this year in his current deal. But it’s clear a price has been set for his services, and it’s a price that’s fairly reasonable. With his current deal expiring in 2024, Liverpool may yet even have time to come in and disrupt the negotiations over an extension.
At just 25 years old, Bennacer still has plenty of years left at the top of his game but he is already proven and in his prime, and exactly the type of player Liverpool need right now. Having been nurtured in Arsenal’s academy, he is also already familiar with English football, which is another bonus, meaning he may not have to take as much time to settle.
For Milan, Bennacer is renowned as a player who brings his side control in games. He ranks in the 95th percentile for tackles (3.35 per 90) per FBref, and wins an impressive 60.6 per cent of his one vs one defensive challenges.
At the same time he reads the game well and is comfortable in possession with the ability to retain and progress the ball effectively into dangerous areas.
For the value that his release clause is set at, Bennacer is an absolute bargain, and if Liverpool and FSG are serious about competing to be at the pinnacle of European football, then he is exactly the type of transfer the club should be making, even if they might have to pay a bit above the release clause to get him now.
