Liverpool's blockbuster next summer signing could brutally snatch £43m Arsenal target
Liverpool have been linked with a bid for a World Cup star also on the radar of their Premier League rivals
Liverpool’s attempts to build a squad which can push them back into the top four, and ideally back into title contention, haven’t exactly been going according to plan. If they were, Yan Diomande would be at Anfield already, but instead the hunt for a new winger goes on – and that isn’t the only gap in the squad which needs to be plugged.
The departure of Andrew Robertson, who has joined Tottenham Hotspur following the expiration of his Liverpool contract, leaves Milos Kerkez as the only recognised left-back in the first team apart from Kostas Tsimikas, who the club hope to sell. That’s a situation which will have to be rectified, and a new report suggests that they might have a target lined up: Borussia Dortmund’s Daniel Svensson.
Liverpool target Dortmund’s Daniel Svensson – reports
A story published on Sunday by gossip website Caught Offside suggests that Liverpool are one of a handful of teams to have taken a shine to Sweden international Svensson, who is currently Dortmund’s first-choice left-back.
Arsenal, AC Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid are all said to be keeping tabs on the 24-year-old, but none of them have quite as pressing of a need for a new left-back as Liverpool, save perhaps for Milan, who are likely to move on swiftly from Pervis Estupiñán after the Ecuadorian endured a disappointing debut season in Serie A. The Reds can, however, easily outgun Milan in financial terms.
The reports suggests that any transfer fee could rise as high as €50m (£42.5m), although it’s made clear that that number is at least somewhat speculative, while it’s not at all clear that Dortmund would be prepared to entertain offers at all. With the player under contract for another three years, they have a strong negotiating position and no pressing need to sell.
The sourcing for the story is questionable. Caught Offside cite only one other outlet in their reporting, who in turn cite a two-month old story from German gossip site Fussball Daten. In short, the evidence that Liverpool are primed to make a bid is rather limited.
There has, however, been considerable speculation about Svensson’s future since the turn of the year, hinting at the possibility that he could be up for sale, and the Swede would tick a few boxes for Liverpool – if the price is right, he’s a rotational-level left-back with the tactical versatility to play a number of different roles. If the intention was to find a left-back who could provide Kerkez with stiff competition but not to break the bank for a clear-cut starter, Svensson could fit the bill.
Would Svensson be a good signing for Liverpool?
Svensson, who was a member of the Swedish World Cup squad under Graham Potter, has earned a reputation as well-rounded, unfussy defender who has exceptional fitness levels and few meaningful weaknesses – but he also lacks clear-cut strengths.
Although able to keep running for the full 90 minutes and blessed with an unquestionable work ethic, Svensson is not physically imposing and can struggle in tight corners and one-on-ones – his success rate in ground duels over the past year in the Bundesliga was a respectable but not exceptional 51%.
He relies quite heavily on his positional sense and doesn’t force a remarkably high number of turnovers, but seldom makes glaring errors – he tends to be in the right place at the right time, but once an attacker gets past him or in behind, he isn’t the most likely defender to make the recovery when required.
He is, at least, a fine crosser of the ball who generated an impressive 5.5 expected assists last season, which very much picks up where he left off at former side Nordsjælland. He’s a decent dribbler and a strong creative force.
A jack of all trades, then, and perhaps master of none. He has no true standout traits but gets little wrong. That could make him a very useful addition to the squad, but perhaps not worth £40m or more unless Liverpool believe he can be developed further. Even if they do believe that, it’s unlikely that he would replicate Robertson’s contributions in full from the very start.
As it stands, the link between Svensson and Liverpool – and indeed any club – is tenuous, and further corroboration from more reliable sources should be required before the story is to be believed. But there is a certain amount of sense in it, if the price is right.