MADRID, SPAIN - OCTOBER 27: Marcos Llorente of Atletico de Madrid celebrates after he scores his team's first goal during the UEFA Champions League Group A stage match between Atletico Madrid and RB Salzburg at Estadio Wanda Metropolitano on October 27, 2020 in Madrid, Spain. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
According to ESPN (h/t Mirror), Marcos Llorente has caught the attention of Liverpool. The Reds are keen to sign the Spaniard and his agent said that they have received a lot of calls from Anfield about signing Llorente.
A product of Real Madrid’s academy, Llorente actually spent some time at Las Rozas and Nueva Rocena before joining La Fabricia in 2008. Spending three years in the academy, he was promoted to the U-17s in 2011. Successive promotions followed in the next few years and in 2014 he was drafted to the Castilla side.
After spending two seasons in the Castilla side, he was then loaned out to Deportivo Alaves. There, he featured a total of 38 times and his performances resulted in Real Madrid pushing him to their senior team on his return. However, he found game time hard to come by and when Atletico Madrid came calling, Real obliged.
Since then, he has become an important part of Diego Simeone’s side, playing a total of 53 games, scoring 10 times and assisting 8. The Spaniard made his debut in November this year for the national side.
Liverpool fans won’t have many fond memories of Llorente as he struck twice in extra time in last season’s Champions League R-16 second leg to send Liverpool out of the tournament. Llorente has come a long way from his Real Madrid days as he has grown to become a more rounded and versatile player.
A natural defensive midfielder, Simeone has often deployed the 25-year-old in a more attacking role. He has shown that he can play that role with aplomb as his goal tally has gone up in the last season or so.
With Liverpool suffering a plethora of injuries this season, their squad is down to bare bones. Adding a versatile player like Llorente would go a long way in easing those problems.
In midfield, he can provide control and steel while he gives the team a chance to score in the attack. With Wijnaldum facing an uncertain future and the likes of Henderson and Fabinho having to chip in at centre-back, it would be a fantastic move to bring in a youthful as well as experienced campaigner such as Llorente.
He would add to the midfield reserves as well as chip in with an occasional cameo in the final third.