Liverpool have suffered their worst start to a Premier League campaign in a decade and Jurgen Klopp will be hoping that the World Cup break will be just what his team needed to get back on track when they return to action after Christmas.
The Reds are currently sixth in the league table after a run of inconsistent form in the top flight which was contributed to by a lack of depth in the team due to a number of injuries occurring over the start of the season.
Unfortunately, when it comes to the forward line the quality of the attacking threat hasn’t recovered during the break with Diogo Jota still set to be out of action until at least January, whilst Luis Diaz aggravated a knee injury which then had to be operated on over last weekend and will leave the winger sidelined until March.
As a result, Klopp may need to add some more depth to the wide forward and attacking options in the team with James Maddison recently named as a potential transfer target for the manager.
The Leicester City and England ace is reportedly a target for the Merseysiders with Julian Ward and co putting him in their sights. It comes as no surprise when you consider the player’s output this season alone so far in a more advanced role for the Foxes.
Over 13 Premier League appearances, Maddison – who was dubbed “super” and a “dark horse” by Danny Murphy – has scored seven goals, delivered four assists and created three big chances, as well as averaging 2.4 key passes, 1.9 tackles and winning 4.8 duels per game.
Not only that, the star who could cost £60m, ranks in the top 5% of his positional peers across the top five European leagues for non-penalty goals, shots on goal, assists, shot-creating actions, touches and progressive passes received.
The Liverpool manager is a big fan of versatile players who can maintain their quality in multiple positions on the pitch, which is something Maddison is more than capable of doing with the predominance of his experience in the attacking midfield role, as well as right, left and central midfield and the right wing too.
Maddison’s versatility in the final third of the pitch could hugely complement Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez.
The talented playmaker has the experience of delivering important goal-scoring opportunities to his teammates at Leicester whilst also converting some of the threats himself.
Nunez has been hounded by various fanbases this season but his goal tally of nine in 18 outings during his debut season in England is not a bad record at all. Indeed, it’s one that with the immense supply line of Maddison would only increase even further.
With that being said, the signing of the Foxes star would be a great piece of business for Liverpool but with a number of attacking talents already occupying the roles at Anfield, it may not be a move the player prefers due to a lack of first-team football or rotation.
