Despite the disappointment of the Moisés Caicedo and Roméo Lavia transfer sagas, Liverpool had a bit of a silver lining with the arrival of Wataru Endo at the end of the week. He could be a solid addition for Jürgen Klopp’s side and a player who could be just as much of a solid reinforcement as the aforementioned duo — especially if Liverpool can now sign another one or two midfielders.
With just about two weeks left of the window there is still plenty of time left to salvage what is left of it and make it into a success. Now, with Endo arriving for a relatively cheap transfer fee of $21m (£16m/€19m), there’s plenty of money still left to spend on another elite holding midfielder.
Yes, some big names have already made moves this summer, but there are still options on the market who could be strong and valuable additions to the club, and who would boost Klopp’s team with their arrival at Anfield. Alongside Endo, another Lavia alternative would make the midfield look very healthy indeed.
The club simply just has to look. There are plenty of gems to find hidden away under the radar.
It’s what some of the best run clubs in world football do. That’s why Brighton for example was able to make so much profit in the last year. It found value and potential in players like Caicedo, and harnessed it, producing world-class talent capable of breaking the British transfer record.
Now Liverpool has to do something along those lines. The club has to find value in places towards which there are no eyes turned in order to find potential superstars.
And this should see the Reds return to Klopp’s old club in the Bundesliga in Mainz, where there is an extremely underrated midfielder who could be an ideal addition to the club.
Luxembourg international Leandro Barreiro is a player who ticks a lot of boxes in terms of what Liverpool is looking for in the market at the moment. He is a ball-winner, relatively young and provides a lot of energy and technical elegance as well.
Last season, out of the under-25 midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues, Barreiro ranked in the top 15 for successful defensive actions per 90, averaging 10.32 as per Wyscout. For under-25 midfielders who average at least six defensive duels per 90, Barreiro also ranked in the top five for successful defensive duels, winning 66.14 per cent. Those kinds of numbers could help Liverpool forget about Lavia.
He is clearly someone who can regain the ball, and that is an area where Klopp’s side is lacking. But it’s important to stress, while Barriero can play in the holding midfield role, he is also comfortable and probably more capable playing in a double pivot or in a box-to-box role — maybe he and Endo could be an alternative to Lavia ‘in the aggregate’, to paraphrase Billy Beane in Moneyball.
Last season he made seven goal contributions in the Bundesliga, which shows he is very capable of going forward as well.
Only 23 years old, on the whole he could be a smart and relatively cheap signing for Liverpool. Transfermarkt values him at $15.2m (£12m/€14m) and for that kind of fee he could be a worthy addition into the squad.
With so much experience at club and international level, having played over 100 Bundesliga games, and earned almost 50 international caps, Barreiro would be a smart signing for Liverpool, and one the club absolutely must consider given its present situation.
