Liverpool Set To Battle Arch Rival Man United For Brazilian Defensive Midfielder From Wolverhampton Wanderers
Arne Slot's Liverpool were on the hunt for a new defensive midfielder in the summer, with the profile previously looked at in seasons under his predecessor, Jurgen Klopp, being scrapped for a more technically minded midfielder. Enter, Ryan Gravenberch. The second coming of Ruud Gullit in his first season as a starting presence in this Liverpool side. Nobody expected this emergence to occur, and the failure to obtain Martin Zubimendi in the Summer transfer window suddenly began to sting a lot less.
However, as the season has progressed, a worrying thought has entered many fans' minds. What if Gravenberch gets hurt or is overplayed and can't keep up the pace for an entire season? We need more depth. The answer to this concern could have been found in the current squad, with both Wataru Endo and Tyler Morton more than capable of fulfilling a backup role for the Dutchman.
Arne Slot, however, is only very recently placing trust in the likes of Endo, for the most part, and Tyler Morton has been relegated to pure rotation for FA Cup games and Carabao Cup games when not playing a Premier League side.
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So how will Richard Hughes and Liverpool's transfer team address this? Former Man United and Blackburn chief scout Mick Brown, who still maintains great connections to the game, spoke with Football Insider that both Liverpool and Manchester United had their scouts in attendance for Wolves at Molineux to watch the 23-year-old Brazilian, João Gomes.
With Wolves in freefall at the moment, following their abysmal start to the season, the firing of their manager Gary O'Neil, and just recently a 3-0 loss to Newcastle United at St. James' Park, finding themselves 18th in the Premier League with seventeen games remaining. It stands to reason that the Old Gold may find themselves being a selling club. The likes of Rayan Aït-Nouri, Matheus Cunha, and João Gomes may find themselves on new teams if Wolves get relegated.
But how does Gomes compare to our current crop of defensive midfielders, we took a look at the comparisons on FBREF and this is what we found.
While these numbers may not immediately jump out at you, it needs to be said that Wolves have not been great this season, only managing four wins from twenty-one outings this season. Their possession numbers are hurting the overall potential of players like Gomes who could thrive in a more possession-based system. Like Arne Slot's at Liverpool.
Wolves have been incredibly unlucky this season, their expected goals(xG) both for and against are completely skewed. They have conceded 45 goals on an expected 32.8, and only scored 20.9 goals on an expected 32.8. Ridiculously unlucky. But, luck plays a bigger part in football than most dare admit.
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How does João compare to our current talisman, Ryan Gravenberch?
The main areas we want you to focus on are the tackles and interceptions, and the blocks. The passing and progressive carries statistics, as mentioned before, are skewed due to Wolves having a horrible possession average as a team this season, averaging less than 50% in fourteen of their games so far. In a more possession-based team, like Liverpool, who average more than 50% possession in twenty-five of their games, and averaged over 60% possession fifteen times this season, Gomes' numbers on the possession statistics would explode.
The main takeaway from these numbers is the defensive solidity of the Brazilian. His height(5ft9) is not an issue either, as our current defensive midfielder pairing consists of Alexis Mac Allister(5ft8) and Ryan Gravenberch(6ft3).
A move for the 23-year-old would be very difficult at this stage of the season and may be more of a Summer pursuit, this would be mainly due to the relegation battle Wolves find themselves in, and losing one of their best midfielders midway through an already tough season would essentially be the waving of the white flag by the club and the acceptance of relegation. No club would operate like this only at the halfway point of the season.