Liverpool are reportedly still interested in Real Madrid midfielder Asier Illarramendi – arguably the only rumoured transfer target who we could realistically move for before the window slams shut at the end of this month.
According to MARCA, we’ve already made an offer to the Spanish giants for the 25-year-old, who Brendan Rodgers is supposedly eyeing up as a potential replacement for the Besiktas-bound Lucas Leiva, as Lig TV explain.
The Spanish source suggests that the Reds have recently returned to Madrid with a £10.6m offer for the player, and that’s despite having a £14m offer rejected last month. Apparently, Real’s signing of Mateo Kovacic from Inter Milan has caused us to renew our interest, as we feel that the La Liga side will now be more willing to sell.
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So, with this in mind, here’s everything you need to know about Illarramendi:
Background:
Illarramendi was a product of Real Sociedad’s youth system, having been born in the local town of Mutriku. He spent the vast majority of his first three seasons in senior football with the club’s B-team, who play in the Spanish third division, making 93 league appearances and scoring seven goals.
He made his debut for the senior side in June 2010 after Sociedad had already sealed promotion to La Liga. He made three top flight appearances the following year, before becoming a semi-regular in the 2011-12 campaign, playing 18 times. In his final year with the club he made 34 appearances, earning him a move to Madrid.
Position & characteristics:
He is a natural holding player and would very much be a like for like replacement for Lucas. At Real Madrid he has struggled to hold down a regular place in the side due to the likes of Sami Khedira, Xabi Alonso and Toni Kroos – with the Spanish giants preferring to have deep-lying playmakers rather than traditional defensive players.
However, Illarramendi is an excellent tackler who likes to get about his opponents and won’t give them much time on the ball. He’s used to playing the game at a high pace and that could see him adapt well to life in the Premier League. He’ll sit in front of that back four and provide the anchor we’re currently short of.
Statistics:
As you can see in the graphic below, Real have been steadily trying to change Illarramendi’s style of play, changing him from a defensive-minded midfield player into a playmaker – putting more emphasis on his passing rather than his tracking back – something which does not necessarily suit him.
At Liverpool he would be more likely to play his natural game – as he did at Sociedad in the 2012-13 season. If you compare his statistics in that column (on the far left) with those of Lucas from last year (on the far right), then you can see the improvement in quality that he would offer.
Strengths:
Despite everything that we’ve said about him being more of a defensive midfielder than a passing midfielder, he wasn’t compared with Xabi Alonso for nothing, and he would fit well with Brendan Rodgers’ current philosophy – players that are capable of adapting their game to suit a certain situation and are happy moving the ball quickly from back to front.
His long passing range is particularly impressive, so if he’s picking the ball up in defensive areas and then picking out Benteke up front, then he’ll be a very useful addition to our team. As we’ve already alluded to, his work-rate is very impressive and his tough tackling nature could be compared to Javier Mascherano, something we’ve not seen on Merseyside for several years.
Weaknesses:
Two years of sitting on the bench aren’t going to have aided his development or his confidence, and Rodgers must be confident that he’s still signing the player of two years ago, who cost Madrid an incredible £34m (via BBC).
Even if he can rediscover that form, this is still very much an unpolished diamond. There’s a reason that he hasn’t been able to force his way into the first-team picture at Madrid on a consistent basis, and the overriding fact of the matter is that he simply isn’t quite good enough at this stage.
The Spanish giants are never going to be one who put much effort into improving players such as this, as they’re always going to be capable of buying a replacement. He’ll struggle in the air and his tackling can be a little wild at time, due to his enthusiasm and desire to reclaim the ball.
How he would fit in at Liverpool:
He’d be a direct replacement for Lucas. This would give Brendan Rodgers a big selection headache – because this is a player who is going to expect to play regularly. We’ve seen us employ three central midfielders in the past – with Emre Can playing alongside Jordan Henderson and James Milner – but with Joe Allen still to come back in as well, competition for places is going to be incredibly high.
It’s hard to argue with the fact that this would be a quality addition for us, but it’ll be even harder to keep everyone happy. The likely scenario would be that Can would drop further down the pecking order, which would be a crying shame for a player in the most important years of his development.
