The £22m midfield gem Liverpool could turn to after Chelsea transfer heartache

First it was Moisés Caicedo’s very public snub, and now Roméo Lavia looks set to turn down Liverpool for Chelsea as well – and having been outplayed by the Stamford Bridge outfit on Sunday evening as well, it’s been a slightly humbling few days for the Reds.

But there’s only a fortnight left of this increasingly absurd transfer window, and that means there’s no time for Jürgen Klopp to pause and lick his wounds – the 1-1 draw against Chelsea proved the very immediate need for a holding midfielder to tie the team together, and they have to get back to finding their man after their first two options rejected a move to Merseyside.

Fortunately, there is still at least one exceptionally good defensive midfielder on the market, one who has impressed both with his club Monaco and the French national team over the past couple of years - Youssouf Fofana. And he could be available for as little as £22m, which would be a steal compared to the eye-watering fees demanded for the players they wanted in the first place.

The Paris-born player started his senior career at Strasbourg, having previously worked as a pizza delivery boy while playing amateur youth football, and moved to Monaco in 2020, establishing himself as a first-team regular in short order. He’s been a mainstay of the Ligue 1 club’s starting sides for the past three seasons, and looks ready to make the step up.

A hugely energetic midfielder who verges on being a full-blown box-to-box man, Fofana is strong in the tackle and reads play superbly, meaning he can often cut balls out before they get anywhere near the back line – he average 1.5 interceptions per game over the past year and recovers the ball on a regular basis. And that’s just the start – he’s also got the gas to get up the other end and contribute to attacking moves.

He averages just under 10 progressive plays per match (a very impressive number) and 2.4 shot creating actions – a measure of a player whose playmaking IQ means he tees up his team-mates for a bevvy of chances. He’s also very handy with the ball at his feet, and can take the ball past opposing midfielder better than most players in his position.

How does he compare to a player like Caicedo? He’s got all the same physical attributes and while his passing isn’t quite as accurate, especially over greater distances, he’s better with the ball at his feet and can match the Ecuadorian blow for blow when it comes to interceptions and blocks. The new Chelsea man does have the edge in tackling, and from the raw numbers you could certainly conclude that he’s the slightly better player – but up to £90m worth of better? Probably not.

And Fofana is only 24, so there’s plenty of room for him to improve and smooth off the remaining rough edges. Even if he doesn’t become one of the very best in the world, there’s very little doubt that he’s Premier League quality, and is at a level where he could contribute to Liverpool’s cause extremely effectively, especially given the dire need for a man in his role.

He’s also got the pace and stamina to be a part of a high-intensity pressing unit, which is one of the key attributes when it comes to becoming a Klopp player, and doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses – save perhaps for the fact that he isn’t much of a goalscorer, hitting the back of the net just twice in the league since joining Monaco.

He’s also clearly impressed Didier Deschamps, making his France debut in September and going on to play six of France’s seven World Cup matches – starting twice, against Tunisia and in the semi-final win over Morocco, and coming on as an extra-time substitute for Adrien Rabiot in the final against Argentina. There may be a small gap between his statistics and Caicedo’s, but if he’s good enough for France’s World Cup squad, he’s good enough for just about any team in the Premier League.

Liverpool had been linked with a move earlier in the window, and Arsenal have been mentioned as well – there’s no doubt that Fofana’s agent has been touting his name and it seems fairly clear that he’s ready to move on from Monaco. He also has just one year left on his contract, which goes some way to explaining why he’s available at such a cut price.

Frankly, he’d be a superb signing that would leave room for another holding midfielder to join the club and really plug that gap as well. A fabulous player with all the attributes Liverpool need, and budget-friendly? What’s not to love?