With his departure from Anfield, Joel Matip will have served as a Merseyside resident for eight years. Despite his fair share of injuries, Matip’s ball-playing skills have been essential to Klopp’s style of play. Finding a successor is now necessary because Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Ibrahima Konate, and promising prospect Jarell Quansah are Liverpool’s remaining center backs.
In addition to Van Dijk, Liverpool will require a first-choice center back, and Paco has historically been linked to this position. Although the 22-year-old only joined Frankfurt last summer, his outstanding play has sparked interest from teams all over Europe. Given that he has missed just one Bundesliga game this season, his availability may play a major factor in the Reds’ decision to sign him for a reported £52 million.
Even though the Carabao Cup holders may have a lot on their plate, Romano said in an exclusive interview with GIVEMESPORT that they will continue forward with their acquisition of Pacho even though negotiations aren’t yet near or advanced. Arne Slot stated: “There might not be a better center-back on the market for them than Pacho,” adding that “he will have to spend wisely this summer if he is to continue Klopp’s legacy.” When it comes to ball confidence and the much-needed defensive statistics, the youthful center-back leads the field in European competitions when compared to other center-backs.
According to Fbref, Pacho’s three assists as a centre-back in the Bundesliga place him in the 93rd percentile of defenders in Europe’s top five leagues. However, it is his passing statistics that are most impressive. Completing 58 passes per 90 minutes ranks him in the top 75% of centre-backs in Europe, while his 40 touches per game in the defensive third place him in the 92nd percentile. Evidently comfortable on the ball, Liverpool could benefit significantly from signing a centre-back like Pacho. He is still learning but is already one of the most complete young talents in the game. With Arne Slot favoring a possession-based system, a player of Pacho’s caliber will likely be on his transfer list.
