Liverpool began 2026 with a draw with Leeds United at Anfield, a sport that highlighted the myriad points with creativity and build-up that also plague Arne Slott.
After breaking British switch information final summer season and signing various elite attacking gamers, it is fairly a step again to take such a giant step again.
All eyes are on Luis Dias and Darwin Nunez, however the South American duo continued to face their detractors throughout their stint on Merseyside, waxing and waning in entrance of objective. That is price retaining in thoughts.
Alexander Isak, who’s at the moment out with a damaged foot, is performing effectively beneath anticipated requirements, and Florian Wirths has been deceiving with flattery, however might Liverpool already be planning an improve for the German playmaker?
Liverpool line up attacking midfielders
The core of Liverpool’s issues are tactical, however Wirtz is just not with out fault. The 22-year-old lacks the creativity, sharpness and athleticism anticipated after his £116m signing, however there isn’t any doubt he has gone from power to power in current weeks.
Nevertheless, with Dominik Szoboszlai so sturdy within the quantity 10 slot, sporting director Richard Hughes might have to signal a touchline winger, even when it comes at a private price to Wirtz. In spite of everything, Liverpool want higher stability and smoother fluency.
FSG appears to agree, with sources in Spain revealing that Liverpool are making ready a proposal price €90 million (equal to round £78 million) for Actual Madrid star Rodrygo, who’s contemplating his choice on the Santiago Bernabéu.
Arsenal and Manchester Metropolis are additionally amongst these , so Anfield might want to act rapidly.
Why Rodrigo could possibly be an improve to Wirtz
Rodrigo, 24, is without doubt one of the greatest forwards on the planet and when he leaves Actual Madrid in January he’ll depart behind a two-time La Liga and Champions League winner with 70 targets and 55 assists in all competitions.
Los Blancos are nothing if not stuffed with expertise, and Rodrigo has rightly earned common begins up entrance alongside Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe in recent times, however he has not impressed in 2025, not scoring in 32 video games till December’s Champions League tie in opposition to Manchester Metropolis.
Though he has loved a current rise in kind below Xabi Alonso, it’s clear that Rodrigo wants a change of tempo if he’s to determine himself as a talisman for a group competing on the pinnacle of European soccer.
After many battles in recent times, Liverpool might give him an olive department.
Given Rodrygo’s pure expertise as a winger and his need to chop inside and rating targets, he could possibly be precisely the participant the group wants within the slot, providing extra depth and stability than Kodi Gakpo and a greater match than Wirtz, whose future is firmly within the central place.
A take a look at the metrics for every of the “superstars” over the previous yr highlights this.
Rodrigo vs Florian Wirtz (final 12 months) | ||
|---|---|---|
Statistics (per 90) | rodrigo | Worts |
Variety of factors scored | 0.31 | 0.15 |
help | 0.19 | 0.24 |
shot taken | 2.80 | 2.15 |
The motion that creates the shot | 4.94 | 4.64 |
contact (to pen) | 6.40 | 5.03 |
Go completion charge (%) | 85.4 | 79.3 |
progressive path | 4.10 | 6.25 |
progressive carry | 5.79 | 3.20 |
profitable take-up | 2.34 | 2.12 |
Variety of balls collected | 4.02 | 4.28 |
Sort out + Interception | 2.07 | 1.47 |
Knowledge through FBref | ||
Rodrygo and Wirtz should not all that comparable as gamers, however whereas the Whites man has extra tempo, Wirtz is a nimble dribbler however clearly not a participant who can dominate up and down the wing.
Because of this, Rodrigo shall be an “improve” to the German worldwide, correcting distortions in Liverpool’s attacking system and resolving an equilibrium that has been out of whack for a while. Liverpool’s 52% win charge over the course of 2025 highlights the depth of Slott’s struggles within the dugout.
That, and the truth that Rodrygo himself is a “world-class famous person”, as Actual legend Luka Modric has mentioned. He has the potential to be a mainstay within the Premier League and has the monitor file to again it up.
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