Frenkie de Jong (25) had been heavily tipped to join Manchester United at the start of the summer window, though, with less than a week left for clubs to operate in the market, there are murmurings that the Dutchman might yet end up at the Red Devils’ bitter rivals Liverpool.
The links are there, albeit not quite as concrete as those shared between Erik ten Hag’s men and Barcelona, whilst the Reds search desperately for a quality addition to the midfield.
Speaking about what the former Ajax man could offer his next club, Football Espana editor, Alan Feehely, compared the midfielder to a former teammate of Thiago Alcantara.
“He’s not a Marco Verratti or a Thiago Alcantara who really catches the eye with the way they control and play the ball,” the reporter told BBC Sport earlier in the transfer window.
“He is much more understated, he is more of a Xavi-type player, kind of makes the team tick. He is not exceptionally quick or strong, he doesn’t really have a repertoire of making line-breaking passes, but when it comes to regulating the game he is superb.
“He will bring to United some sanity in a pretty chaotic club and pretty chaotic midfield – confidence on the ball, he never shirks taking possession, he will always ask for it, always wants it to feet.
“If he is in a position to have a midfield built around him he can thrive, but he needs absolute faith and seniority in midfield and at Barcelona he doesn’t have that.”
Though Jurgen Klopp is thought to have specified an option capable of adeptly playing in both the No.6 and No.8 roles, the opportunity to sign genuine quality in a left-sided central midfield role could prove difficult to ignore.
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Whilst Feehely was keen to steer away from comparisons between De Jong and our No.6, a description of making the ‘team tick’ arguably covers, to a certain extent, the former Bayern Munich man’s importance to this Liverpool side.
Different options as they may be for their respective clubs, we’ve clearly missed the presence of a world-class midfielder beyond Fabinho – and one who has a broader impact on how the team functions overall.