Why Liverpool offering Pedro Chirivella a new deal wouldn’t make sense

According to Sky Sports, Liverpool are keen to offer a new contract to Pedro Chirivella, who impressed in the 1-0 victory over Everton in the FA Cup Merseyside derby on Sunday. 

The 22-year-old has made a total of four appearances in all cup competitions for Liverpool so far this season and the Reds are willing to reward him for his progress, with a new deal understood to be in the pipeline for the Spaniard. 

With Jurgen Klopp opting to rest most of his regular players during the FA Cup tie, Chirivella benefitted from injuries to Naby Keita and Fabinho to start in that No.6 defensive midfield role against Everton. 

Playing alongside the likes of Curtis Jones and Adam Lallana in Liverpool’s midfield trio, the Spaniard caught the eye with his composure in possession and ability to break up the play as the Reds grabbed a 1-0 victory against the odds, thanks to a wonderful strike from Jones. 

Chirivella, who spent nine years in Valencia’s youth system, was snapped up by Liverpool back in 2013 and joined the club’s academy in 2014. Having impressed across various age-group levels at Anfield, the Spaniard was eventually handed his Premier League debut against Swansea City back during the 2015-16 season.

Ironically, though, that remains his only Premier League appearance to date and Chirivella is yet to play a part in a league fixture for Liverpool almost four-and-a-half years on from his debut.

The 22-year-old previously impressed on his loan spells at Go Ahead Eagles and Willem II in the Dutch Eredivisie but that hasn’t been enough for him to break into Jurgen Klopp’s midfield that is already stocked with accomplished players like Fabinho, Keita, Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum, Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner. 

Chirivella, however, has been a regular fixture for Neil Critchley’s U23 side in the Premier League 2 over a number of years now, clocking up a total of 59 appearances at that level since his debut back in the 2016-17 campaign. 

Now, as per the report, the former Spanish U17 international is out of contract in the summer of 2020 and Liverpool are willing to extend his stay at Anfield with fresh terms, despite his lack of involvement in the club’s Premier League campaign.  

To put things into perspective, Pedro Chirivella has caught the eye in the cup competitions for Liverpool this season but the Reds offering him a new deal wouldn’t really make a lot of sense, given that the Spaniard’s five-year stay in Merseyside has proven to be a long and hard struggle with little output. 

With Oxlade-Chamberlian returning from his injury woes to play a substantial role this season, Keita grabbing his opportunities with both hands and the likes of Henderson and Wijnaldum continuing to impress, Chirivella is going to find it extremely difficult to break into the current playing XI that is already bursting with a lot of quality.

The emergence of academy prospect Curtis Jones, who is a good three years younger than Chirivella, has pushed the Spaniard further down the pecking order. 

Verdict

The 22-year-old has played a part in the cup competitions but his lack of involvement in the Premier League is a clear indication of the fact that he is not an integral part of Klopp’s plans moving forward. 

Looking at things from the player’s perspective, Chirivella is a real talent and at 22, it is high time for him to seek greener pastures in order to establish himself as a force to reckon with in senior professional football. 

Hence, offering him a new deal simply based on his display against Everton on Sunday would be a knee-jerk reaction and one that might not work out well for either party. 

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To that end, Liverpool parting ways with Pedro Chirivella at the end of the season would be a fair settlement for all parties involved.