When Liverpool appointed Jörg Schmadtke as its sporting director on a short-term deal following the departure of Julian Ward, it seemed likely that it would place a heavy emphasis on the German market.
Schmadtke had extensive experience of working in the Bundesliga after stints at Hannover, Köln and Wolfsburg, no doubt building up an extensive network of German contacts along the way.
In addition, fellow German Jürgen Klopp, the former boss of Borussia Dortmund and Mainz, was said to be wielding an increasing amount of power in the club’s recruitment process (that suggestion came from David Ornstein, speaking to NBC Sports).
The first new recruit of the summer, Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister, was the only exception to the trend. And Liverpool could now prolong it by contacting Roberto Firmino’s old club Hoffenheim over young striker Maximilian Beier.
According to Bild journalist Christian Falk, Beier is ‘definitely on the list’ of possible transfer targets for the club as he approaches the final 18 months of his contract. The $21m (£17m/€20m) release clause in his current deal only applies to German clubs, and the three Premier League sides interested — Liverpool, local rival Everton and Brentford — would have to pay ‘a little bit more’.
When you look at Beier, the main thing that stands out, aside from his impressive goalscoring record, is his pace. As Falk notes, among German players, only Bayern’s Leroy Sané has clocked a higher top speed than the 20-year-old’s 21mph.
There are similarities here with the 2022 deal for Darwin Núñez, even if this one would be a few levels cheaper. Like the Uruguayan, Beier is young, relatively tall (1.80m), rapid — Núñez clocked the seventh-highest speed in the Premier League last season at 22.7mph — and prolific.
Beier hasn’t sustained it for a full season at the top level just yet, but he’s scored four in seven appearances so far, averaging 1.1 per 90 minutes, the 10th-best strike rate of any player in Europe’s big five leagues. The sample size is small, of course, but it’s clear that he’s making the most of this opportunity to impress at the PreZero Arena.
He’s out-performed his expected goals tally by 2.2 up to this point, averaging an incredible 0.44 goals per shot, and while that kind of finishing might not be sustainable, it does paint a picture of a potentially ruthless forward.
Beier came under consideration for Julian Nagelsmann’s first Germany squad, as per Bild, but narrowly missed out in the end. If he keeps up his electric form, though, the U21 international will not only get a chance at senior level, but he’ll also come to be viewed as one of the most exciting young strikers in Europe.
Liverpool, at that stage, certainly wouldn’t be the only top side in the running, with it becoming clear that this is an interesting talent in the making.
