Deal closer – Liverpool prepared to agree terms with £18.2million a year Anfield star
Mohamed Salah’s future at Liverpool has been up in the air for some time but the latest reports indicate, he is moving closer to agreeing a new deal at Anfield.
The Egyptian playmaker was heavily linked with a move away from the club last summer but the Merseysiders rejected bids to keep him.
News – Liverpool lead to secure signing of £442,000 a year midfielder – Report
According to an exclusive report covered by FT, Salah is now inching closer to securing a new contract with Liverpool.
The news source have mentioned that Liverpool turned down a bid worth £150million from Al-Ittihad last summer and are prepared to keep him as long as possible.
In 2022, the former Roma man signed a deal worth £18.2million a year, £350,000 a week, with the Reds which is due to expire next year.
Last season, in 51 appearances in all competitions, the winger directly contributed in 46 goals (30 goals and 16 assists).
Moreover, in the current campaign, he has showed no signs of slowing down and has already netted 18 goals and provided 9 assists in 27 games under Jurgen Klopp.
Salah is by far the best attacker in the Premier League this term and based on his performances, he deserves another pay rise.
However, the African superstar, who is currently with Egypt for the AFCON, is a veteran and will turn 32 in 6 months.
Have your say – Should Liverpool agree a new deal with Mohamed Salah?
Liverpool could sign their own Declan Rice in “world-class” £48m star
Jurgen Klopp could complete his team’s midfield with this audacious move.
Liverpool have reached the midway point of the 2023/24 Premier League season and are three points clear at the top of the table, still in with a shot across the different cup competitions too.
League football takes a bit of a pause through January, with the upcoming weekend’s action taking place in the FA Cup before the following two match weeks are split into halves to provide each team with a break.
With so much at stake, Jurgen Klopp would be forgiven for being somewhat short-sighted and ensuring that the January transfer window is utilised properly, and with Joel Matip suffering a season-ending ACL injury in December, it certainly seems like the defence will receive priority.
But, according to reports, plans are being drawn up to complete last year’s midfield rebuild with a marquee signing at the end of the campaign, with Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich targetted.
Liverpool transfer news – Joshua Kimmich
According to a report from Spanish outlet AS in the days preceding the winter transfer window, Liverpool and Manchester United are poised to battle for the signing of Kimmich, with Barcelona still interested after failing to sign the Germany international last summer.
The 28-year-old is out of contract with Bayern in 2025 but is yet to enter negotiations for fresh terms, and suitors have picked up on the knowledge that he is considering his options.
Valued at £48m by Football Transfers, Klopp and Liverpool’s technical director Jorg Schmadkte – who has many Bundesliga connections – may well be enticed by the chance of doing business for a bargain fee; if Kimmich refuses to put pen to paper, then the Bundesliga champions will have little choice but to cash in.
All confirmed Premier League done deals: January transfer window 2024
With the January transfer window now upon us, FFC has all the info for tracking your club’s winter transfer activity.
Joshua Kimmich’s style of play
Bayern signed Kimmich from Stuttgart as a teenager in 2015, since winning every honour available at club level across 367 appearances, posting 41 goals and 100 assists.
The 82-cap international has been regarded as one of the finest players in world football for some time, with erstwhile Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge declaring him the “very embodiment of world-class.”
This season, Kimmich has only played 11 times in the German top flight after missing fixtures due to injury and suspension, but he has played 20 matches across all competitions and racked up important assists against Manchester United and Galatasaray in the Champions League.
He would bring new levels of creativity to Liverpool’s midfield, ranking among the top 8% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 7% for shot-creating actions, the top 1% for passes attempted and the top 2% for progressive passes per 90, as per FBref.
While some Reds supporters might feel that he doesn’t offer the kind of defensive security that is needed to complete Liverpool’s new engine room, the £322k-per-week star actually averages the second-highest number of tackles in the entire Die Roten squad this season.
It would be a brilliant signing, providing Liverpool with a specialist No. 6 to rival Wataru Endo in the anchor, perhaps even mirroring title rivals Arsenal’s summer swoop for Declan Rice, who joined from West Ham United for a staggering £105m fee.
How Joshua Kimmich compares to Declan Rice
Said to be a “passing master” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, Kimmich has never plied his trade outside his homeland at club level but could now be preparing for a move to England to try his hand in the Premier League.
And should it be Liverpool that get their hands on the player, Klopp could indeed hold the perfect weapon to match Rice, aged 24, in the centre, who has chalked up 28 displays so far.
Football Transfers list Rice as the second-most comparable Premier League player to Kimmich (behind Manchester United’s Casemiro), with the pair’s innate passing prowess, intelligence and energy surely something that would win Klopp over in his pursuit for Kimmich, especially after registering an interest in Rice last summer.
Over the past year, the England international ranks among the top 19% of midfielders in Europe for goals, the top 15% for pass completion, the top 16% for passes attempted, the top 11% for progressive passes, the top 6% for interceptions and the top 17% for clearances per 90.
| Joshua Kimmich vs Declan Rice (23/24) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stat | Kimmich | Rice |
| Matches played | 11 | 20 |
| Goals | 1 | 3 |
| Assists | 3 | 1 |
| Pass completion % | 90% | 92% |
| Shots per game | 1.2 | 1.4 |
| Key passes per game | 2.7 | 0.8 |
| Tackles per game | 2.0 | 2.1 |
| Interceptions per game | 0.8 | 1.5 |
| Clearances per game | 0.5 | 1.7 |
| Ball recoveries per game | 6.3 | 5.1 |
| Duel success rate % | 56% | 51% |
| *Stats sourced via Sofascore | ||
So what can be ascertained from the table above? While both midfielders offer similarities, crisp in their passing and active in tackling and recycling possession, Rice is utilised in a more industrious role, far more active in his defensive duties across the park.
Kimmich, however, is the more creative distributor, though his deeper-lying role facilitates such inventive passing. If Liverpool signed the German, Klopp would need to find a way to increase his activity in such phases.
Kimmich would play a similar role to Liverpool’s Thiago Alcantara – who has yet to feature this season due to injury and is out of contract at the end of the campaign – which only adds fuel to the fire when considering the possibility of a summer swoop.
Kimmich and Rice are not identical, but there are comparisons to be drawn and the Bavarian phenom could have a transformative effect on the Reds’ centre in the same manner as Rice at the Emirates Stadium, having been hailed for his “sensational” displays by journalist Matt Scott.
The transfer would not come cheap, but with so many young, exciting stars rising to the fore in the Liverpool engine room, perhaps Kimmich could be the general to command illustrious success over the coming seasons.
Arsenal signing £53m “special talent” could help revive Odegaard
Mikel Arteta wants to increase his midfield options this January.
Arsenal’s most recent match was a 2-1 defeat to Fulham, which was their second loss within a week.
The result saw them drop down to fourth in the Premier League table, and they’re now just one point above rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
All confirmed Premier League done deals: January transfer window 2024
With the January transfer window now upon us, FFC has all the info for tracking your club’s winter transfer activity.
With some cracks beginning to show in the side, Mikel Arteta will look to bolster his squad in January.
Arsenal transfers latest – Martin Zubimendi
According to journalist Dean Jones – as per GiveMeSport – Arsenal have a “serious interest” in Martin Zubimendi, who has been labelled a “special talent” by journalist Antonio Mango.
The Spanish midfielder is contracted to Real Sociedad until 2027, and he has a £53m release clause.
Furthermore, Zubimendi isn’t eager to leave the club, and with Arsenal’s financial fair play situation, a move could be difficult this winter, albeit it remains a deal the Gunners should certainly consider.
Martin Zubimendi’s style of play
Arsenal have conceded in seven of their last eight matches, with the slightly light midfield making Arteta’s side less defensively secure. The new tactics of having Declan Rice as a lone defensive midfielder, Kai Havertz as almost a second striker at times, and Martin Odegaard having more defensive responsibility have really impacted the side – and the latter in particular.
Last season, the Arsenal captain was unstoppable, registering seven assists and scoring 15 goals, however, his attacking capability has been nullified slightly this season – with just four goals and four assists to his name in the league. The Norwegian was at his best as the freely attacking midfielder alongside Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka.
The signing of Zubimendi could allow Arteta to return to that successful midfield formula. Therefore, let’s look at how the 24-year-old would enable that based on the Spaniard’s stats from the 2023/24 La Liga season.
| Zubimendi’s stats | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stats (per 90) | Zubimendi | Percentile |
| Pass completion % | 85.0% | Top 29% |
| Passes into final third | 4.81 | Top 29% |
| Interceptions | 1.18 | Top 26% |
| Touches (Def 3rd) | 3.19 | Top 18% |
| Clearances | 1.90 | Top 17% |
| Stats via FBref | ||
Firstly, Zubimendi is a versatile midfielder who can play as a lone defensive midfielder with two high eights in front of him, in a double pivot, or in a flat midfield three. However, he mainly features as the defensive-minded midfielder who mops up and ensures that the ball gets to the creative players in front of him. His game is far from flamboyant, and he prefers to set the tempo by playing simple football.
If the Spain star was to join Arsenal, it is safe to presume that he would slot into the role that Rice is currently playing, forcing the former West Ham United man into the box-to-box left-eight role that Xhaka made his own before his departure. This would then allow Odegaard to express himself in the final third much more than he did last campaign, relieving him of some defensive duties.
This would then have a positive impact on the rest of the attack, with the wingers becoming less isolated and the centre forward having more options to bounce the ball in and around the box. Zubimendi would bring much more balance to the side overall, providing a screen in front of the dominant centre-back pairing.
Overall, Zubimendi – who has previously been likened to fellow La Liga star, Toni Kroos – would certainly help improve Arteta and allow Odegaard to return to his attacking role, reviving the Gunners skipper in the process.
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