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da bet7k： Liverpool’s lack of strength in depth in advanced positions has been masked by the brilliance of Mo Salah and Sadio Mane over the course of the past two seasons, but Jurgen Klopp needs to rectify that problem to keep in touching distance of Manchester City next season.
What’s the word?
Well, according to a recent report from Het Nieuwsblad, Klopp has already set the wheels in motion to add a quality talent to his forward-thinking options.
The report claims that the Reds are interested in Borussia Monchengladbach’s Thorgan Hazard, and the Bundesliga outfit want the 26-year-old attacker to move to Anfield instead of Borussia Dortmund, another interested party.
However, crucially, Hazard is eager to acquire regular opportunities and he views Dortmund as the destination which offers him greater guarantees of first-team football.
Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic deal is key
It’s easy to sympathise with Hazard’s feeling that Liverpool may not offer him the opportunities he naturally craves at this stage in his career. Mo Salah and Sadio Mane are practically untouchable in their respective wide positions, and dethroning them would represent a monumental task for him to undertake.
But the situation is less complicated at Dortmund, especially now Chelsea have agreed to sign Christian Pulisic in a stunning £58 million. Not only was the deal stunning in the enormity of the transfer fee, it was one which very few had seen coming when the deal was announced.
Jadon Sancho has represented Dortmund’s first-choice attacking wide player for the majority of the season so far, while Pulisic, Jacob Bruun Larsen and Marius Wolf have all been vying for a spot in the starting XI.
The soon-to-be Chelsea talent has endured a stop-start season through injury but his departure undoubtedly leaves a gap in Dortmund’s squad which needs to be filled, and it appears Hazard, who has scored 12 goals in all-competitions this season, has been identified as the man to step into the USA international’s shoes.
Neither Larsen or Wolf have done enough to prove they are ready to cement a place in the starting line-up, leaving Dortmund with a place which is blatantly up for grabs.
At Liverpool, meanwhile, Xherdan Shaqiri has been a bit-part player at best and his inability to hold a place down in Klopp’s XI proves that opportunities are not easy to come by. Naby Keita has also struggled for regular opportunities since making his move from the Bundesliga, and his career will hardly be filling Hazard with deep enthusiasm over a potential switch to Merseyside.
There is compelling evidence to suggest that, in comparison with Liverpool, Dortmund will offer solid assurances over a regular starting berth next term – a notion that has been enhanced by Pulisic’s decision to move to Stamford Bridge.