A few years ago, it felt as if Liverpool were linked with signing any player who had performed well in a match or two against them.
Christian Benteke scored five times against Brendan Rodgers’ Reds team before the manager signed him for the club shortly before he left.
Links to thorns in Liverpool’s side don’t seem to be as frequent these days, but one man who does fit that bill is Saul Niguez of Atletico Madrid.
He scored the only goal in the first leg of a Champions League round of 16 tie in 2020, and played 120 minutes when his side completed the job with a 3-2 win at Anfield in the second leg.
The Spanish international has been said to be of interest to the Reds in the past, and such stories will only heat up with the news that he is available for 40million euros.
Whether Liverpool genuinely intend to make a move for the 26-year-old remains to be seen, but there is certainly something in common among the players being linked with a move to Anfield this summer.
If they don’t go for Saul Niguez, they might sign Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who is also 26, or perhaps Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini, a 25-year-old. Florian Neuhaus, at 24, is a little younger but is another potential option.
If the weight of stories points to a theme, it’s that the Reds are hoping to replace Gini Wijnaldum with a midfielder who is about to enter the peak of their career and who can normally be relied upon to remain healthy throughout a gruelling campaign.
Jurgen Klopp can call upon many excellent players for the central trio in his team, but the men in question are mostly either young or in their thirties, or unfortunately injured more often than not.
Saul has no problems there having made at least 33 league appearances in each of the last five seasons, albeit he was restricted to 22 starts in 2020/21 as Diego Simeone often opted to pick Marcos Llorente in his place.
His versatility will certainly appeal to Klopp too. A central midfielder by trade, he has also played 67 matches on the right and 49 on the left, with 28 games in defence, split between centre-back and left-back ( per Transfermarkt ).
The new James Milner, anyone? While the Reds’ midfield veteran continues to evade Father Time for now, seeking a long-term replacement who can cover a variety of positions would be no bad thing.
And Saul has no qualms with dealing with the physical aspects of the game either. While that is no surprise – would Simeone employ any other type of player? – it is important for anybody moving to the Premier League.
Atleti’s number eight has won 53.8 percent of his aerial duels over the last four years ( per FBRef ), which puts him ahead of the likes of Thiago Alcantara (48.6), Gini Wijnaldum (41.8) and Naby Keita (37.9).
In terms of volume, Saul’s 2.76 aerial wins per 90 minutes over the last 365 days puts him in the top six percent of midfielders from Europe’s top leagues in that period.
He has been in La Liga’s top nine players for total tackles won in each of the last four seasons (topping the rankings in 2017/18), plus he made the most blocks of any player in both 2018/19 and the campaign which followed. Need a defensive screening player? Better call Saul.
While he may not be the most creative midfielder, averaging just 0.07 expected assists per 90 minutes over the last year, at Liverpool that wouldn’t necessarily matter; Wijnaldum’s average for that period is 0.04, for instance.
Being able to win the ball and getting it swiftly to the attacking quintet of full-backs and forwards is key for Klopp, and Saul can unquestionably do that.
Having fallen slightly out of favour in Spain, it may be time for him to take up a new challenge in the north west of England.
