According to the Daily Mail, Liverpool are interested in signing £15 million-rated German playmaker Pascal Gross from Brighton and Hove Albion in January to strengthen their squad.
The same report claims that Jurgen Klopp is keen on adding another creative playmaker to his squad after failing to land Nabil Fekir in the summer as the Reds look to beat defending champions Manchester City to the Premier League crown.
Klopp has been an admirer of the 27-year-old from his managerial days at Borussia Dortmund and he believes that the former German youth international has all that it takes to taste success at Anfield. (h/t Daily Mail)
Gross has been a revelation in the Premier League since he made his move to Brighton from German outfit Ingolstadt last summer, impressing with his creativity in the midfield and was named the Seagulls’ Player of the Season for the 2017-18 campaign.
The German started his career with Hoffenheim back in the 2009-10 season but subsequently played for second division club Karlsruher SC before joining Ingolstadt in 2012.
He helped his team gain promotion to the Bundesliga with an impressive tally of 7 goals and 23 assists from 34 appearances in the second division. He fared quite well in the Bundesliga for the next couple of years before Ingolstadt was eventually relegated at the end of 2016-17 season.
However, Gross finished the 2016-17 season with incredible numbers, creating a total of 95 chances, the highest by any player in the top division. Furthermore, he averaged 3 key passes, 1.5 shots, 2 crosses and 2.6 successful long balls per game in the Bundesliga that season, which speaks volumes of his all-around abilities as a creative midfielder.
The 27-year-old hit the ground running at Brighton in his debut season, scoring 7 goals and providing 7 assists and helped the Seagulls avoid the drop. He hasn’t featured regularly this season due to injuries, playing only 502 minutes across 8 appearances in the Premier League this season.
To put things into perspective, Gross has shown enough promise at the highest level and at 27, it might just be the right time for him to take the next big step in his career. In all honesty, he ticks all the boxes to be a useful addition to Liverpool’s squad.
Liverpool are currently atop the Premier League standings after a resounding win over rivals Manchester City. The Reds are currently the only unbeaten side in the Premier League after the Citizens stumbled at Stamford Bridge last week.
As much as Liverpool have looked threatening in the final third this season, their lack of creativity in the midfield has come to light, especially in the Champions League defeats at the hands of Napoli, PSG and Red Star Belgrade.
Summer recruits Naby Keita and to a lesser extent, Fabinho, have played their parts but they are not the sort of players who can light up the scene with a moment of creative spark. James Milner has fared pretty well too but Adam Lallana has continued to struggle with injuries and he doesn’t look like the player he was back in his younger days at Southampton. It might sound a bit harsh but it will be fair to say that Lallana doesn’t have that sharpness and agility any more to play a substantial role in Klopp’s high-intensity system.
And that is exactly why the emergence of Pascal Gross on Liverpool’s radar is an exciting proposition for the fans.
The German playmaker has been performing at the peak of his powers for quite some time now and it might be the right time for Liverpool to snap him up for a measly fee in January.