At the start of the season, Arne Slot faced a few questions regarding his true tactical integrity and how much of Liverpool’s rip-roaring start was a product of Jurgen Klopp’s legacy.
For sure, some claimed the Dutchman was riding on his predecessor’s coattails, but such arguments have been reduced to flaking, brittle deadwood as Liverpool enter the new year confidently atop the Premier League and Champions League tables.
Klopp’s residual ferocity, his counter-pressing snap, can be found in this current Liverpool team. It’s like one of those lenticular paintings that shift when moving to different perspectives.
Optical illusions on the pitch can give the appearance of Klopp’s system, but make no mistake, Slot is very much his own man. He has willed and shaped the Anfield side into his own design despite the weight of the task and the bereftness of activity during the summer transfer window.
Goals scored
2.11
2.50
Goals conceded
1.08
0.94
Possession
61.3
56.9
Progressive passes
55.5
47.7
Progressive carries
24.3
21.4
Ball recoveries
53.5
44.3
Tackles won
11.0
11.7
Duels won
48.9%
51.2%
Sidenote: See the table above; Liverpool are more relaxed in their build-up, less frenetic and energetic. However, they are scoring more and conceding less. This is the marker of Slot’s genius, calming things down through phases while ensuring that his side retain the ability to ramp it up to the nth degree when the situation demands.
Federico Chiesa was snapped up for an eye-catching £12.5m but has only featured four times as he battles injuries. With Darwin Nunez’s future somewhat unclear too, FSG could authorise a statement signing this year – and perhaps even this month.
Liverpool eyeing new forward
As per Sky Sports, Liverpool have shortlisted Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo and may move to sign him this year. While the door is not closed on January spending, resolving Anfield’s contractual concerns is the pressing issue.
Mbeumo’s a prized signature after his prolific performances in the Premier League this term, with reliable reports suggesting that Newcastle United are also in the race and willing to pay £50m this month, though they are wary of PSR restrictions.
Liverpool boast the world’s best right winger in Mohamed Salah but with Chiesa homesick, peripheral and looking for a way out, this could be the perfect move to bolster Slot’s thriving frontline.
Bryan Mbeumo's season in numbers
Mbeumo has been a part of Brentford’s remarkable journey under Thomas Frank’s management, notching 105 goal contributions over 222 appearances.
Joining from Troyes in French Ligue 2 in 2019, Mbeumo has achieved modern-legend status in west London and, still only 24 years old, will feel that his best days lie ahead.
And rightly so. Regarded as one of the Premier League’s most exciting forwards, his goal against Arsenal on New Year’s Day was his 45th since the start of the 2022/23 campaign, placing him seventh in the division since that timeframe, directly behind Alexander Isak.
1.
Mohamed Salah
18
17
2.
Erling Haaland
19
14
3.
Alexander Isak
17
12
3.
Cole Palmer
19
12
5.
Bryan Mbeumo
19
11
5.
Chris Wood
19
11
He’s always there, hunting down goals, but he’s not just a marksman. As per FBref, Mbeumo actually ranks among the top 9% of positional peers in the Premier League this season for shot-creating actions and progressive passes, the top 12% for progressive carries and successful take-ons and the top 14% for tackles per 90. He’s the complete package.
A successful take-on is recorded when a player beats their opponent by directly carrying the ball past them while retaining possession.
In fact, such metrics have seen him compared to players such as Isak and Nunez, among forwards in his position across Europe’s top five leagues. The Liverpool striker has his faults, to be sure, but he’s still imbued with a kind of electricity and chaoticness that convinced Liverpool to pay for his services.
And Isak. Well. Wouldn’t Liverpool like to sign the kind of forward who could replicate some of the Newcastle man’s quality?
A Darwin Nunez & Alexander Isak hybrid
Imagine a player carrying properties distinctive to both Nunez and Isak. Imagine the kind of player you’d get. Mbeumo could be that type of striker for Liverpool, one who can shift between number nine and the flank.
It could be an irresistible recipe for success. After all, Slot has demonstrated through Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz that he is willing to field wide players in central striking roles to great effect.
For example, Mbeumo has scored 20 Premier League goals since the summer of 2023, missing only 14 big chances in that timeframe, as per Sofascore.
Isak, one of the deadliest finishers on the continent, has missed 30 big chances since 2023/24, albeit scoring 33 goals since. Nunez represents the converse, having scored just 13 Premier League goals in the discussed timeframe, missing, however, 30 big chances, embarrassingly matching Isak.
It’s grim reading for Nunez acolytes, albeit they can take solace in the fact that Liverpool’s agent of chaos is a thorny customer, using his athletic style and dynamism to help his team toward their goal.
He ranks among the top 14% of forwards across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for progressive carries and the top 3% for tackles per 90, which is impressive, but we can see that Mbeumo would implement a tactical strategy that could negate Nunez’s role, his expertise while bringing a whole new cutting edge to complement the likes of Salah and Cody Gakpo.
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While Mbeumo wouldn’t provide Liverpool with the ball-striking ability of Isak, they could mimic it in their own form. This is enough. More than enough. Liverpool perhaps boast the finest frontline in the country under Slot, and Mbeumo, described as an “output machine” by producer Michael Johnston, would make it even better. It’s as simple as that.
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