One Dutch pundit has highlighted a current Eredivisie star as a potentially good fit for Liverpool, despite the absence of any concrete transfer speculation.
Speaking on the Twee Viertje podcast [via Sport Witness], Aad de Mos said that Feyenoord midfielder Orkun Kokcu ‘can play’ at Anfield and would like to see him at a team whose manager ‘wants to play attacking football’.
The 76-year-old stated: “I think Lazio and Roma, AC Milan and Tottenham, those are teams that could definitely fit.
“If it’s a coach who wants to play attacking football and play good football, then possibly, because it’s all based on young players. If Gravenberch can play at Liverpool and Gakpo, then he can play at Liverpool.”
“That has to do with the philosophy and the vision. Continue to select and want to build with a young team, then he is a building block that I would like to have there. I think he should look at a club that really suits him.
“He shouldn’t make the mistake of going to Bayern Munich because of course it’s a hierarchy that determines who plays and who doesn’t, and also determines whether a coach is good enough. You’ve seen that now with Nagelsmann and Tuchel, the situation.
“He has to look at a team where the coach really wants him, then I think it’s mainly with Liverpool.”
Even among the long list of midfielders to have been linked with the Reds in recent weeks and months, some of whom feature more prominently than others, Kokcu’s name hasn’t come up.
That may seem a little surprising given his fine return of 12 goals in 40 appearances for Feyenoord this season prior to tonight’s Europa League clash against AS Roma (Transfermarkt), incredibly scoring more than every senior Liverpool midfielder combined.
The Turkey international has one Anfield connection, though – when making his way through the ranks in Rotterdam, he was in the under-19 side coached by Dirk Kuyt, scoring four times in 11 games under the former Kop cult hero (Transfermarkt).
Aside from his effectiveness in the final third, Kokcu is also well capable of advancing the play from his central midfield berth.
As per FBref, his averages of 12.05 progressive passes and 6.22 shot-creating actions per game put him in the top 1% of positional peers outside Europe’s five main leagues for both of those metrics over the past 12 months.
If he hasn’t come up in boardroom discussions at Anfield so far, he mightn’t be of any interest to Liverpool. However, looking at what he could potentially offer to Jurgen Klopp’s side, maybe De Mos could be onto something with his recent observations.