The transfer mill is well and truly turning, the January market is just weeks away and Liverpool are linked with a plethora of names, ready to swoop after a lacklustre start to the 2022/23 campaign.
What’s the word?
Liverpool are reportedly eyeing a move for talent down the right flank, with Spanish publication AS naming the Reds as potential suitors for Real Valladolid right-back Ivan Fresneda.
The 18-year-old has been at the centre of interest from clubs for about a year now, with Atletico Madrid attempting to swoop in January.
And now Liverpool join the list, with manager Jurgen Klopp alongside a plethora of Premier League bosses with eyes on the burgeoning starlet who possesses a £26m release clause.
Milner upgrade
The introduction of Fresneda at Anfield would be a prudent move for Klopp’s side; while Trent Alexander-Arnold looks set to maintain his vice on the position for years to come, competition for places is paramount for a side looking to contest for major honours across the domestic and continental front.
Calvin Ramsey was signed from Aberdeen for £6.5m in the summer, while the veteran James Milner has been a stalwart for the Merseyside outfit, although holds limited time as he approaches his 37th birthday.
Milner, who was once dubbed a “workhorse”, has indeed been dependable and adept across a multitude of positions under Klopp, with the centre-midfielder notably filling in down the right flank in the absence of another option in the position, bar Alexander-Arnold.
And the 61-cap England international, for all his experience and technical ability, is often left struggling against the blinding pace of many Premier League and Champions League wingers at present.
In the league this term, the £60k-per-week earner has recorded an average rating of 6.74, and although impressing on occasion, now faces the culmination of his Liverpool career with his contract set to expire at the end of the current campaign, something that would only be accelerated if Fresneda arrives.
He would inject vitality into the position, adding an offensive, more direct, drive to the team that could reap rewards when Alexander-Arnold does indeed find himself benched or rested.
Making seven appearances for Valladolid this term, the youngster is working his way towards a regular standing within the team, and with such little experience, is inevitably going to attract more and more attention for his name.
As per FBref, Fresneda boasts a rounded arsenal despite his tender age, ranking within the top 5% for tackles and the top 3% for clearances, while also indicating his forward-thinking approach with his rank within the top 16% for progressive passes received, when compared to full-backs across Europe’s major leagues.
Lauded as “beastly” by Spanish journalist Juan Arroita, Fresneda has a promising future ahead of him, a potential that could be harnessed and tapped at Liverpool.