Liverpool remain top of the Premier League table, although their advantage looks less solid than it did a week ago.
After falling behind inside the opening 11 minutes and having Andy Robertson sent off shortly afterwards, the Reds actually performed well to hold Fulham 2-2 at Anfield on Saturday, with Cody Gakpo ) Diogo Jota was the scorer for the two equalizers in front of him.
It was only the fourth time Liverpool have failed to win in any competition since Arne Slott arrived on Merseyside, but it means they are now just two points ahead of in-form Chelsea, albeit with a game in hand. field.
So, can the addition of another striker help the Reds push the envelope as they bid for a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title in 2025?
Liverpool ready to bid for new striker
according to offside reportLiverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City are all interested in signing Brighton striker Joao Pedro and are said to be prepared to bid up to £54m.
The Brazilian started his career at Fluminense before joining the giants in Rio de Janeiro. as a ten year oldbefore heading to Watford in 2020, scoring Scored 24 goals in 109 games For the Hornets.
These are far from outstanding statistics, but he did do enough during his time in Hertfordshire to attract attention on the south coast as he moves to Brighton in the summer of 2023 Club record £30m.
Pedro has impressed in his first season with the Seagulls Scored 20 goals in all competitionsIncluding six of the six games in the Europa League, the club’s first appearance in the continental competition, most notably a late winner when Marseille visited Sussex, a goal that helped Brighton reach the 16th powerful.
How much Joao Pedro might cost Liverpool
So far this campaign, Pedro’s influence has been limited by: ankle injuryBetween August 31st and November 23rd, only 43 minutes of Premier League games were played. But he still scored four timesthese goals directly added seven points to the Seagulls’ tally.
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Having now started five games in a row, Fabian Schüzeler clearly views the Brazilian as an important player, leading to Brighton reportedly valuing him at around £60m, according to the above report.
Brighton certainly know how to get big transfer fees for quality, popular players: Moisés Caicedo (£115 million), Mark Cucurella (£62 million), Ben White (£50 million), Alexis Mac Allister (£35 million) and Yves Bissouma (£25 million) are the latest example of the Seagulls’ strong negotiating power over the past three years, with all five teams sold to the so-called Premier League “Big Six”.
So if Pedro does leave the South Coast in 2025, you can bet it will be a sky-high fee.
How Joao Pedro will improve Liverpool’s forward line
Arne Slott already has a quality group of forwards at his disposal, including Mohamed Salah, Who is conducting contract negotiations?As well as Luis Dias, Darwin Nunez, Gakpo, Jota and summer recruit Federico Chiesa, He has had little impact so far due to injury.
described as ‘Crazy ball-handler’ on data analyst Ben Mattinsonhow does Pedro compare to the Reds’ top five attacking options?
Well, as Jota did at Anfield, playing a hybrid role between center forward and No. 10, he performed quite well in comparison.
Pedro vs Liverpool forward (23/24 & 24/25) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Statistics | Pedro | Salah | who | Dias | darwin | steel |
game | 50 | 67 | 60 | 83 | 81 | 96 |
minute | 3,421 | 5,010 | 3,005 | 5,765 | 4,629 | 5,531 |
Target | twenty four | 41 | twenty four | 25 | 26 | 33 |
Goals per 90 games | 0.63 | 0.74 | 0.72 | 0.39 | 0.51 | 0.54 |
Assist | 6 | 27 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 12 |
assists per 90 | 0.16 | 0.49 | 0.27 | 0.14 | 0.31 | 0.20 |
expected goals | 19.6 | 38.6 | 11.8 | 20.8 | 29.9 | 18.1 |
Goals – xG | -0.6 | -0.6 | +4.2 | +0.2 | -8.9 | +1.9 |
Create the action of the shot | 127 | Chapter 247 | 74 | 269 | 142 | 169 |
goal-setting actions | No. 19 | 37 | twenty one | twenty four | twenty four | 20 |
There is no doubt that Salah ranks among the best in almost every offensive metric. You don’t need a giant table full of numbers to tell you he’s good, do you?
However, compared to other forwards, Pedro is on par with most, ranking highest in goals per 90, while having a better expected goals than Jota and Gakpo.
Slaughter has been cutting and replacing his centre-forwards this season, especially since Jota rib injury Dias regularly beat Nunez against Chelsea in mid-October, most notably in a 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen when the Colombian scored a second-half hat-trick.
Meanwhile, Gakpo has been deployed primarily at his preferred perimeter position and is believed to be “more dangerous” under Slott, Claims manager told him The left wing “will be your position” and is mainly deployed centrally by Jurgen Klopp.
So, with Ruota Missed 59 games due to injury Nunez has not lived up to extremely high expectations since the start of the 2022/23 season Set a club record of £85 million Price tag, Uruguayan scored Only 36 goals scored in 116 games Center does remain a position of need as of now, and Pedro’s numbers suggest he could be an excellent addition if the Reds are willing to pay a hefty fee for his services.
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