It’s been suggested that Liverpool’s search to address one part of Arne Slot’s squad this summer has been narrowed down to a straight shootout between two players.
Centre-back is set to be a priority position for the Reds in the upcoming transfer window, and it seems that the shortlist of prospective signings in that area of the pitch has now been whittled down to just a couple of names.
Journalist Christian Martin told South American outlet DSports that LFC will swoop for ‘one of the two’ out of Willian Pacho (Eintracht Frankfurt) or Piero Hincapie (Bayer Leverkusen), with either of those players expected to cost a minimum of €50m (just under £43m).
There are plenty of similarities between the two players – both Bundesliga centre-backs, both 21 (and born within three months of each other), both Ecuador internationals – but what do the statistics say about the duo?
Pacho saw twice as much game-time as his compatriot during the 2023/24 season, so any fair analysis of the pair must be undertaken with an average per 90 minutes being applied, using figures from FBref.
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On that front, Hincapie comes out on top for pass completion (91.1% to 84.4%), goal-creating actions (0.3 to 0.15), tackles won (1.33 to 1.12), tackling success (76.5% to 58.5%) and aerial duel success (57.1% to 52.9%).
However, the Eintracht Frankfurt man ranks as superior for interceptions (1.42 to 0.79), clearances (4.61 to 2.61) and blocks per game (0.79 to 0.48), while also being far more adept at beating opponents one-on-one, with a successful take-on rate of 85.7% compared to his Leverkusen counterpart’s 16.7%.
A valid argument can be made for both players, and it could simply come down to which one the Liverpool hierarchy believe would be a better fit for Slot’s team. We’d be quite happy to see either of the Ecuadorian duo arriving at Anfield over the summer.