Jorg Schmadtke was only officially announced as Liverpool’s new sporting director on Tuesday but the German has already been hard at work on finding the Reds new signings.
One name that has emerged, following prior links to the Ligue 1 ace, is that of Nice’s Khephren Thuram who appears to have enjoyed a tremendous campaign in French football.
Speaking with Neil Atkinson, Daniel Austin said on The Anfield Wrap back in March: “In the French division, which includes a lot of very good central midfielders; 95th percentile for progressive carries, 93rd percentile for successful take ons, 87th percentile for expected assists. 6 foot 4.
“And my god does that lad run with the ball in a straight line and get his team up the pitch!”
Those figures remain just as impressive according to data collected by FB Ref, with the now 22-year-old ranking in the 94th percentile for progressive carries, 92nd for successful take ons and in the 89th percentile for expected assists.
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The progressive, creative machine Liverpool have been looking for?
The Frenchman’s defensive statistics do leave much to be desired, it has to be said, with the player ranking in the 37th percentile for tackles (albeit in the 74th for interceptions).
Given the left-sided central midfielder is tasked with contributing to defensive actions and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s new inverted role effectively shrinks the space Fabinho patrols, there’s arguably room for a more creative-minded right-sided central midfielder to fill what was Jordan Henderson’s spot.
We’d imagine the position wouldn’t be completely stripped of defensive duties, though it’s hard not to feel excited when looking at the numbers – numbers Jurgen Klopp and the coaching team would surely take further into the stratosphere were we to land Thuram’s signature this summer.