Liverpool may soon ‘strike another agreement’ that will immensely please Jurgen Klopp – report
Jurgen Klopp’s trust in Jorg Schmadtke could lead Liverpool to striking another agreement with the German sports director.
It’s now been reliably reported that the Dusseldorf-born football executive may sit down with the club in February or March to debate extending his stay at Anfield beyond June.
“Schmadtke has a contract until the summer as sporting director but that ends at the end of June, i.e. before the next transfer window,” Christian Falk wrote for BILD (via Sport Witness).
“That’s why, according to my information, they will perhaps sit down in March or February and discuss whether things should continue.
“The fact is, Klopp trusts Schmadtke and if they are definitely still together, they will see what they can get on the table and maybe strike another agreement again.”
The 59-year-old, formerly of VfL Wolfsburg, played a major role in the summer transfer window, helping identify Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboslzai and Wataru Endo in the market.
Something to consider
Unless Liverpool can find another sporting director of such unbelievable quality as to rival our former transfer guru in Michael Edwards, continuity wouldn’t be the worst plan in the world.
Schmadtke looks to have another tough few objectives to meet in the coming months, with the club keen to bolster the backline and potentially secure a long-term Mo Salah replacement.
Even should the Egyptian extend his stay at Anfield, as commentators increasingly suspect may be the case, future-planning will be necessary.
It’s a big ask of any sporting director, of course, so we only hope that Klopp’s faith in his compatriot is well-placed.
FSG and Liverpool now leading race to sign 22 y/o “destroyer” for Klopp
The Reds could find their long-term replacement for Fabinho.
Last summer, Liverpool bid farewell to one of their Premier League and Champions League winners in Fabinho, who joined former teammates Jordan Henderson and Roberto Firmino in the Saudi Pro League. The Reds’ most direct replacement was 30-year-old Stuttgart midfielder Wataru Endo, signed in August for a fee of around £16.2m (BBC Sport).
In the first stretch of the season, though, Jurgen Klopp preferred to use another of his summer acquisitions – Alexis Mac Allister – as his deepest midfielder. Indeed, the Argentine would start in that role in 12 of Liverpool’s first 14 Premier League matches before he suffered an injury against Sheffield United (Transfermarkt). That gave Endo the opportunity to enjoy a run in the side, and sure enough, he strung together a run of six straight league starts before leaving to join Japan for the Asian Cup.
While Liverpool are sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League right now, three points clear of Aston Villa, Klopp still appears intent upon adding a young number six to his ranks as a long-term replacement for Fabinho, and Morten Frendrup may be that man.
Frendrup, 22, left Danish side Brondby to join Serie A club Genoa for a fee of €3.9m in the winter window two years ago. Under contract until 2026, he’s made 70 appearances for the club overall and played every single minute for them in the league this season (Transfermarkt).
Liverpool in pole position to sign Frendrup
Liverpool have been monitoring Frendrup for some time, and now a report from Italy claims the Reds are leading the race to sign the defensive midfielder, who like Fabinho can also play at full-back. Indeed, Tuttosport claim Liverpool are in pole position to sign Frendrup ahead of Juventus. The Turin outfit apparently want to sign him in the summer, but he may not make it that far if the Reds firm up their interest.
Frendrup is Serie A’s toughest tackler
What kind of defensive midfielder is Frendrup? Well, one talent scout has billed him as a “destroyer” (Jacek Kulig) and that’s certainly an assessment that’s shown in the data.
Frendrup leads Serie A this season for total tackles (72), indicating the frequency with which he puts his foot in and his ability to sniff out danger, and crucially he also tops the charts for tackles won (37) and dribblers tackled (31) too, which demonstrates that he’s making a positive impact. In addition, he places inside the top five for blocks (30), which is more evidence that he relishes the ugly side of the game (FBRef).
| Stat (per 90) | Wataru Endo | Morten Frendrup |
|---|---|---|
| Tackle attempts | 1.90 | 4.0 |
| Tackles won | 1.03 | 2.06 |
| Dribblers tackled | 1.06 | 1.72 |
| Blocks | 1.36 | 1.67 |
| Pass completion | 84% | 78.3% |
| Progressive passes | 5.81 | 3.61 |
However, some of his in-possession numbers may be considered a cause for concern. His pass completion of 78.3% ranks him as low as the 28th percentile when compared to positional peers in comparable leagues over the last year, and he’s even lower (21st percentile) for progressive passes.
Even though he’s not being particularly ambitious with his passing by trying to find gaps in the opposition defensive structure, he’s failing to find a teammate relatively often. By contrast, Endo’s completion rate currently stands at 84%, and he’s a level above when it comes to progressive passing too (FBRef).
In finding their new six, Liverpool will have to seek an appropriate trade-off between defensive capabilities and offensive contribution, and that’s why it’s sensible to continue watching Frendrup to see if he can develop the weaker areas of his game.
Ten Hag could land instant Mount upgrade with Man Utd move for £40m wizard
The Red Devils have been touted with an interest in the talented attacking midfielder.
Manchester United have endured a frustrating first half of the 2023/24 campaign and will be hoping for significant improvement in 2024.
Erik ten Hag’s side are currently seventh in the Premier League as it stands and have lost nine of their opening 20 matches in the top-flight.
The Red Devils have already been knocked out of Europe as they finished bottom of their Champions League group with one win out of six games, which means that they will not play any European football until next season at the earliest.
United are still in the FA Cup and have Wigan to come this weekend, which could be their most realistic chance of securing silverware this term.
The January transfer window, which is now open for business, has provided them with an opportunity to bolster the squad in order to give them a better chance of achieving success over the coming months.
Adding more creativity and goals to the team should be a priority as 16 other Premier League sides have outscored United so far this season.
Man United transfer news – Rayan Cherki
With this in mind, ten Hag should push for the club to secure a deal for reported transfer target Rayan Cherki before the end of the window.
FootballTransfers reported last month that the Lyon starlet is on the club’s radar as they consider a swoop to sign the talented attacking midfielder.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is said to be keen for the Red Devils to complete a deal for the French whiz and the young ace has been of interest to the club ‘for a while’.
Football Insider reported in November that Newcastle United and Manchester United were both keeping tabs on Cherki ahead of the January window.
They claimed that both teams see him as a star in the making, whilst fellow Premier League side Chelsea could also enter the race for his signature.
The outlet also added that Lyon are set to demand a fee of up to £40m, and a minimum of £30m, to part ways with the exciting gem in 2024.
This suggests that it would not be a super expensive deal for the club to complete. However, they could need to beat off interest from Chelsea and Newcastle to land his signature, which could be difficult if they continue to lose matches and plummet down the table over the coming weeks.
United must work hard to win the race for Cherki and convince him to make the move to Old Trafford as ten Hag could bring him in as an instant upgrade on Mason Mount, who arrived from Chelsea last summer.
Mason Mount’s season in numbers
The England international joined the club from the Blues ahead of the 2023/24 campaign for a reported fee of £55m, plus an extra £5m in potential add-ons.
It has been a frustrating first six months in Manchester for the attacking midfielder as his form on the pitch has been poor and he has been hit with injury woes.
The 24-year-old attacker recently made a return to training after a calf injury that caused him to miss ten competitive matches, which came after he was absent for six games due to injury earlier in the campaign.
On the pitch, Mount has produced zero goals, zero assists, and zero ‘big chances’ created in eight Premier League appearances – including four starts.
He has played 12 matches in all competitions for the Red Devils and contributed with zero goals, one assist, and one ‘big chance’ created in total.
| 22/23 Premier League | Mason Mount (via Sofascore) |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 24 |
| Goals | Three |
| Assists | Two |
| Big chances created | Three |
| Key passes per game | 1.3 |
As you can see from the table above, United signed Mount off the back of an unproductive season in front of goal for Chelsea in the top-flight during the 2022/23 campaign.
He did not contribute with goals, assists, or ‘big chances’ created on a regular basis for his boyhood club but that did not stop ten Hag from swooping to sign him for up to £60m.
The England international’s struggles this term should, therefore, not be a surprise and there is no recent evidence to suggest that his form is going to drastically improve in the coming weeks or months.
This is why the United head coach should now push to sign Cherki this month as the French ace could come in as an immediate upgrade on the former Chelsea lightweight.
The statistics that show why United should sign Cherki
The 20-year-old magician has been in splendid form for Lyon over the past 18 months and has the potential to offer more than Mount at the top end of the pitch.
Since the start of last season, Cherki has made 51 Ligue 1 appearances for his club and chipped in with four goals, eight assists, and 17 ‘big chances’ created.
This means that the French youngster has produced a goal or a ‘big chance’ created every 2.43 league matches for Lyon during that period.
Whereas, Mount has three goals and three ‘big chances’ created in 32 Premier League games for Chelsea and United combined since the start of the 2022/23 campaign, which is one every 5.33 matches on average.
These statistics suggest that Cherki has the ability to make an impact at the top end of the pitch far more frequently than the current United whiz, which could, therefore, help to increase the goal output from ten Hag’s team.
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