SLOT'S OWN COUTINHO: LIVERPOOL READY TO FIGHT MAN CITY FOR 51M ACE
The dawn of the 2024/25 campaign will soon poke over the horizon, and Liverpool's new head coach Arne Slot is gearing up his squad for an attack on major honours and the forefront of the Premier League.
While there has been a lack of transfer activity at Anfield this summer, sporting director Richard Hughes, also new, has stressed that there could be a "crescendo" in the market come August.
FSG love to secure a tidy deal and will pounce if the right opportunity materialises. Well, if one report is to be believed, the perfect new attacking midfielder might be ready to complete a transfer to a success-driven outfit such as Liverpool.
Liverpool transfer news
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Liverpool are alongside Manchester City in hoping to sign Dani Olmo from RB Leipzig this summer, with the Euro 2024 champion valued at €60m (£51m) by his German outfit.
Separate reports suggest that Pep Guardiola's side have lodged an official offer for the 26-year-old, so Liverpool will need to up the ante if they are to sign one of Europe's hottest commodities right now.
Why Dani Olmo could be Slot's own Coutinho
Few players lit up the international scene this summer like Olmo, whose clinical, talismanic efforts helped fire Spain toward a record-breaking fourth European Championship title.
Olmo's all-encompassing attacking game marks him as a truly deadly outlet, and Liverpool would go from strength to strength with him in the side. For Leipzig last season, while stricken by injury, the £152k-per-week talent scored eight goals and added five assists despite only registering 20 starts.
He ranked among the top 12% of positional peers at Euro 2024 for goals, assists and successful take-ons and the top 20% for shot-creating actions per 90, as per FBref, with his "magic" ability with a football - as noted by talent scout Jacek Kulig - setting him up to become Slot's very own version of Philippe Coutinho.
A mesmerising player, Coutinho is one of the Reds' most iconic modern stars, posting 54 goals and 43 assists across 201 games for Liverpool and being sold to Barcelona in a jaw-dropping £142m deal.
That was the watershed moment in Jurgen Klopp's reign, opening up a new, previously unthinkable depth of coffers to spend on the likes of Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk and take the club to a new level entirely.
| Philippe Coutinho: PL Stats 17/18 | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | # |
| Matches | 14 |
| Goals | 7 |
| Assists | 6 |
| Pass completion | 79% |
| Key passes per game | 2.9 |
| Dribbles per game | 2.8 |
| Tackles per game | 1.2 |
| Duels won per game | 5.6 |
| Stats via Sofascore |
As you can see above, the Brazil international, now 32, was beyond brilliant during those final, pre-Barca days, meshing it all together to establish himself as one of Europe's finest.
Transfermarkt's Marcel Veth has hailed Olmo as a "joy to watch" but he is also one of the most complete players around, winning four duels and completing 1.2 tackles on average in the German top flight last season, as per Sofascore.
Liverpool have a superabundance of attacking talent at Slot's disposal, but Olmo would offer something different and might even prove to be the second coming of an unforgettable phenomenon in Coutinho.
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