Liverpool transfer ‘target’ emulating Harvey Elliott and Vinícius Jr amid Chelsea ‘competition’

Liverpool broadcast ‘goal’ impersonating Harvey Elliott and Vinícius Jr amid Chelsea ‘competition’

Liverpool are reportedly targeting two players from the same club. One  Harvey Elliot and rivals Vinícius Jr in the La Liga standings.

After the arrival of Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven in January, Liverpool’s attacking ranks look complete in the short term.

In the longer term, however, the Reds will have to find a successor to Mohamed Salah as the 30-year-old’s contract expires in 2025.

Given Salah’s arguably unprecedented contribution to the success of Jürgen Klopp’s side – he has risen to Liverpool’s seven top scorers in five and a half seasons – it is a daunting task. One player the Reds have reportedly identified as an option is Athletic Bilbao’s 20-year-old winger Nico Williams. According to Fichajes, Liverpool are keeping an eye on the Spaniard, who played at last year’s World Cup, with a view to a possible transfer.

But one of his teammates has also piqued the club’s interest, with the same outlet reporting that Klopp’s side could battle Chelsea and Bayern Munich for the signing of midfielder Oihan Sancet.

Last weekend, Sancet became the first player to score a La Liga hat-trick this season, as Athletic beat Cadiz 4-1. But who is he and what could he bring to Liverpool? Now 22, Sancet joined the club’s academy in 2015, returning from Osasuna. He would join the side in 2019/20, splitting between the third division B team and senior team.

Since then, her stature and his involvement have grown steadily, to the point where he has already hit 20 career starts this season.

He would have reached that benchmark last season if he hadn’t missed a total of 12 games with three different problems, but his fitness record at senior level is pretty good, other than that. Lui suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in 2018-19 while still in the second team, but it appears to have had no long-term effects on his health or his development. last time he took it to seven for the campaign and lifted him to eighth in the goalscoring table, tied with Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr..

Much of this is due to the clinical conclusion, as Sancet’s expected goal tally (determined by the combined quality of his chances) is just 3.7, making his seven-goal tally a 3.3-goal overachiever . Only one player in the whole division – Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde – surpassed his xG by a bigger margin (3.6).

Prior to this season, Sancet was mainly used as an attacking midfielder or second striker, but according to WhoScored he now plays most of his football alongside Mikel Vesga, with four forwards in front of him.

Following the arrival of Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven in January, Liverpool’s attacking ranks look complete in the short term.

But in the longer term, the Reds need to find a successor to Mohamed Salah, as the 30-year-old’s contract expires in 2025. Given Salah’s arguably unprecedented contribution to the success of Jürgen Klopp’s side – he has risen to Liverpool’s seven top scorers in five and a half seasons – it is a daunting task.

One player the Reds have reportedly identified as an option is Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams, 20. According to Fichajes, Liverpool are closely watching the Spaniard, who featured at last year’s World Cup, for a potential transfer.

But one of his teammates has also sparked the club’s interest, with the same outlet reporting that Klopp’s side could be in contention against Chelsea and Bayern Munich for the signing of midfielder Oihan Sancet.

Last weekend, Sancet became the first player to score a La Liga hat-trick this season as Athletic beat Cadiz 4-1. But who is he and what could he bring to Liverpool?

Sancet, now 22, returned to the club’s academy in 2015 from Osasuna. He will join the team in 2019/20, splitting his time between the Third Division B team and the senior squad.

From there, his status and commitment have steadily increased, to the point where he has already made a career-high 20 starts this season.

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He would have reached that benchmark last season if he hadn’t missed a total of 12 games with three different problems, but his fitness record at senior level is pretty good, other than that. Lui suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in 2018-19 while still in the second team, but it appears to have had no long-term effects on his health or his development.

Indeed, Sancet blossomed as a strike force last season, scoring six goals and providing four assists in La Liga. He impressively ranked 10th in the league in his aggregate for goals without penalties and assists per 90 minutes (0.63). This year he’s building on that, with his hat-trick last time out taking him to seventh place this season and eighth in the goalscoring table, tied with Real Madrid’s Vinícius Jr.

Much of that comes from flawless finishing, as Sancet’s expected goal tally (determined by the combined quality of his chances) is just 3.7, making his seven goals a 3 over. ,3 goals. Only one player in the entire division – Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde – exceeded his xG by a higher margin (3.6).

However, this is broadly what you’d expect from a converted number 10 playing in a deeper position, with Vinícius a more likely point of comparison than any true defensive presence. His heatmap (via SofaScore) shows him doing most of his work in the right half of the opponent’s territory, also moving to the flank. There are parallels here with Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott.

All in all, Sancet is an exciting talent, one that could be available at a reasonable price as he approaches the final year of his contract.

However, if you’re going to use him as a midfielder, you’ll need to devise a system that accommodates the limitations of him off the ball or address that weakness on the training pitch. A move from Liverpool could well spell a repeat of Elliott’s dilemma.