According to reports from France, Liverpool are among several Premier League clubs showing an interest in a Champions League-winning defender.
L’Equipe claimed that the Reds – along with Arsenal and Manchester United – are monitoring the situation of Ferland Mendy at Real Madrid, with the 28-year-old’s future at the Bernabeu being thrown into doubt as he’s no longer an automatic starter under Carlo Ancelotti.
The £172k-per-week left-back (Capology) missed training ahead of El Clasico tonight due to feeling ‘tired’, in his manager’s words, and the LaLiga leaders continue to be linked with a positional peer in Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies.
Mendy – who helped Real Madrd to defeat Liverpool in the Champions League final two years ago – stands out as one of the most reliable distributors of a football in Europe.
He ranks among the top 1% of left-backs in the continent for pass completion over the last 12 months, with his success rate of 93.3% (FBref) surpassing everyone at Anfield to have played more than 13 Premier League minutes this season (WhoScored).
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However, the 28-year-old ranks very poorly for several core defensive metrics in comparison to positional peers in Europe’s main leagues (FBref), and it’d seem improbable that the Reds would commit to signing a player whose age suggests that he wouldn’t have huge resale value if we were to purchase him.
Liverpool already have two dependable left-backs in Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas, with Joe Gomez also capable of playing in that position, so unless one of those were to leave, it doesn’t seem like a part of the squad where LFC sorely need to strengthen.
We’d be inclined to take these reports with a pinch of salt until such time that they’re further corroborated by other outlets.