Done deal Liverpool has signed a talented player….. 

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – MAY 06: The Liverpool club crest on the first team home shirt displayed on May 6, 2020 in Manchester, England (Photo by Visionhaus)

With relegation almost assured for Southampton Football Club it seems the vultures are already circling, ready to pick apart the bare bones of their squad as soon as the summer transfer window opens. For Liverpool there are a couple of options playing down on the South Coast as they look to restructure an ageing midfield in an attempt to push for silverware once again. 19 year old Belgian international, Romeo Lavia, is the name that most fans would like to see make the move to Anfield after an impressive campaign. Lavia is extremely athletic, built like a tank and has a great reading of the game for one so young. He has a high ceiling and goes about is business in a no fuss manner that could fit in well with Jurgen Klopp’s high octane press. I am not sure of the details surrounding his contract but surely the former Manchester City youth player had some sort relegation release clause put in his deal and should be available at a reasonable price. Then there is James Ward Prowse. The free kick specialist that no one thinks is good enough to pull on the red shirt of Liverpool. However, I feel he is the one that Jurgen Klopp should be prioritising out of the two.

NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND – MAY 08: James Ward-Prowse of Southampton dejected during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Southampton FC at City Ground on May 8, 2023 in Nottingham, United Kingdom. (Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)

Should we sign Alexis Mac Allister, Mason Mount and Ryan Gravenberch as is being predicted by the main stream media then Prowse will not get a look in at as a starter. The likes of Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Tiago Alcantara and Fabinho would also be ahead of him in the pecking order but securing his signature should still be a must for one reason and one reason only, his free kick conversion rate.

I know this isn’t the NFL and we can’t sub him in and out just to take pot shots at goal but having scored from 15.2% of his set pieces since 2013 compared to just 5.6% for the rest of the Premier League combined I feel there is a way we can use this ability.

Liverpool have notoriously struggled against teams that like to play a low block, soak up pressure and hit us on the counter as we push to find a breakthrough. In our best years under Klopp it was our relentless mentality that saw us break down this stubbornness, but even then we picked up too many draws along way that potentially cost us two league titles. Having someone as prolific as James Ward Prowse on the bench offers another avenue and gives defenders something else to consider. Imagine sitting at 0-0 against a Sean Dyche Everton side with ten minutes to go at Anfield. It’s at this point we can introduce our specialist kicker and look to win some set pieces in and around the box. Having this option will do two things. One, James Ward Prowse will score some and win us points himself along the way. Secondly it will make the opposition second guess when making challenges deep in their own half, which could create space and opportunities for others to exploit.

I know it’s not glamorous and I know we have the Charlie Adam comparison, but if we can pick this guy up for less than 20 million I think it could be well worth the punt.

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Alexis Mac Allister could be brilliant Jude Bellingham alternative at half the price for Liverpool

Alexis Mac Allister and Jude Bellingham have made themselves household names with English football fans this season.

Ironically, the duo both made waves at the winter World Cup to inflate their price tags tenfold. While Mac Allister ultimately came out on top, helping Argentina lift the trophy for the first time since 1986 to immortalise his legacy, Bellingham – a mere 19-year-old – was the standout name for England.

The former has continued to excel at Brighton, steering the club towards a potential debut European campaign. A match-winning penalty helped sink Manchester United on Thursday – doing Liverpool a favour in their Champions League pursuit.

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Reports in Argentina have suggested Mac Allister could join the Reds this summer for £60million. In previous weeks, talk of signing Bellingham dominated the transfer agenda until Jurgen Klopp dismissed the claims – urging realism about what Liverpool can do in the market.

But is there much between the two players? For half the price, could Mac Allister be a shrewder option than his English counterpart?

Well, as far as league goal statistics are concerned, absolutely…

The 24-year-old’s consolation strike against Everton took his tally to 10 for the season. Bellingham, by contrast, has only netted seven for Borussia Dortmund, despite a double at the weekend. A lot of emphasis is placed on xG, the analytic used to calculate the probability of a shot resulting in a goal.

The data shows that Mac Allister’s xG in 2022-23 is 11.4, considerably higher than Bellingham’s (6.2). Despite operating in a deeper role under Roberto De Zerbi, the Brighton man has the upper hand offensively.

As far as passing is concerned, Mac Allister also comes out on top for accuracy (86.4 percent) – although Bellingham (81.3 percent) has created more goals for his teammates. The England wonderkid’s four assists trump the solitary set-up Mac Allister managed for Joel Veltman against West Ham United earlier in the season.

Their contrast in styles can be analysed by stats when both players are in possession. Bellingham, a box-to-box powerhouse with a relentless engine, has carried the ball 7238 yds this season – dwarfing Mac Allister’s 5123 yds. However, the Seagulls midfielder has given the ball away far less, being dispossessed just 34 times compared to Bellingham’s 55.

On the defensive front, just three tackles separate the two players but Mac Allister (22) lags behind the 19-year-old in blocks (49). At Liverpool, however, the Brighton ace would have Fabinho or Jordan Henderson to lean on defensively, while Bellingham is very much an all-action, do-it-all midfielder in the heart of Dortmund’s engine room.

Both players can claim to be enjoying the better season. After all, Brighton are outside bets for a top-four spot and Dortmund have kept the Bundesliga title race going until May – both unthinkable feats at the start of the season.

Liverpool supporters would rejoice at the prospect of signing either star but, as Klopp hinted at last month, only Mac Allister appears a plausible option. Given the stats and his much inferior price tag, you may be surprised to learn he has more than held his own against the future of English football.

Mac Allister vs Bellingham (league only)

Mac Allister

Bellingham

Games

30

29

Goals

10

7

Assists

1

4

xG

11.4

6.2

Pass completion (%)

86.4

81.3

Distance carried with ball (yards)

5123

7238

Dispossessed

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