Liverpool in contention for “monster” signing who’s better than Fabinho -

The Premier League’s summer transfer activity is starting to rise in volume, but all is (comparatively) quiet at Anfield. Liverpool have undergone a heavy transformation in regard to infrastructure but the playing squad is presently untouched.

Arne Slot has already revealed that he has been in constant communication with Liverpool’s sporting director Richard Hughes over the past several weeks, vis-a-vis transfers. There’s no question that the Reds are going to pounce when the right opportunity presents itself.

Liverpool fell out of form in the final stages of the 2023/24 campaign, and despite winning the Carabao Cup in February a rueful end to Jurgen Klopp’s illustrious tenure, spanning the best part of a decade, suggests that one or two impactful additions are indeed needed.

Centre-back and the attacking flanks have been discussed as priorities for Liverpool this summer but the base of the midfield could also do with some investment despite signing Wataru Endo from Stuttgart in a £16m deal one year ago.

On that note, Liverpool are in the mix for one of the finest holding midfielders in the business…

Liverpool lining up first-class midfielder

Endo has done a job at No. 6 but the 31-year-old Japanese is probably not the long-term solution. Lacking somewhat in mobility and technical, progressive acumen, he’s a strong member of the team but not the cream of the crop.

That, perhaps, is why FSG have taken an interest in Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich, with the distinguished German shortly entering the final year of his deal at the Allianz Arena.

Sky Sports Deutschland – via Sport Witness – claim that it’s unlikely Kimmich will extend his contract with Bayern, and with the 29-year-old valued at €50m (£43m) by his outfit, this could be worth a punt for a Liverpool side that could make good use of his technical quality.

Joshua Kimmich’s season in numbers

Kimmich has been at Bayern Munich for an age, completing 390 appearances, scoring 42 goals and supplying 104 assists. He’s won the complete gamut of honours in his homeland and played a crucial part in defeating Paris Saint-Germain to win the Champions League in 2020.

While he used to spend his time marshalling the flanks as a full-back, Kimmich’s glittering skill set has seen him morph into a deep-lying midfielder for the majority of his senior career, albeit playing in his old role with renewed regularity last season, featuring there 16 times.

Wherever he played under Thomas Tuchel, the Germany international impressed. As per Sofascore, Kimmich was wonderfully creative across his 28 league outings last term, supplying six assists, creating 11 big chances, averaging 2.6 key passes and five ball recoveries per game and succeeding with 60% of his contested ground duels.

He also ranked among the top 13% of positional peers during the 2023/24 Bundesliga campaign for assists, the top 7% for shot-creating actions and the top 3% for passes attempted and progressive passes per 90, as per FBref.

He also, despite his influential, ambitious range of passing, upheld a pass success rate of 91%, suggesting that he can throw down with some of the continent’s sharpest and crispest short distributors when need be.

Given that Slot’s brand of Football is going to see an extra emphasis on ball retention and build-up passages at Anfield, Kimmich would be a wonderful addition.

Why Liverpool need Joshua Kimmich

Endo did a job last season but Kimmich would arrive with a world-class skill set, tried and tested at the very highest level of European Football.

League Stats 23/24: Joshua Kimmich vs Wataru Endo
Statistics	Joshua Kimmich	Wataru Endo
Matches played	28	29
Matches started	27	20
Goals	1	1
Assists	6	0
Pass completion	91%	88%
Big chances created	11	2
Key passes per game	2.6	0.6
Tackles per game	1.6	1.7
Recoveries per game	5.0	3.7
Ground duels won per game	2.8 (60%)	2.9 (41%)
Stats via Sofascore

As the table above, Kimmich performed his duties to a superior standard than that of Endo last term, with the Liverpool man failing to be anywhere near as reliable in the duel and replicating a mere portion of the German’s playmaking ability.

In that regard, Liverpool would no doubt secure an upgrade on the Japan captain and likely provide Slot with the Club‘s finest defensive midfielder since the halcyon days of Fabinho at his best.

The Brazil star was sold to Al-Ittihad for around £40m in January 2023 after falling by the wayside in his final campaign on Merseyside, though this should not detract from a sparkling career that saw him perform as the steely anchor at the base of Klopp’s midfield, completing 219 appearances and winning the full sweep of silverware during a highly prosperous period.

The 30-year-old was even described as “the best” holding midfielder in the world by Gary Neville in 2019, such was the level of his game.

He performed his duties industriously but Kimmich would actually prove to be an upgrade for Slot, when considering the circumstances, with few able to perform with the same kind of gusto and all-encompassing brilliance as the German phenom.

With just one year left on his contract, Liverpool would be silly not to attempt to bring one of this generation’s finest midfielders to the fold.