Liverpoolreturns to Champions League The action was crowned with success on Tuesday night as he battled hard to seal a 2-1 win over Ligue 1 side Lille at Anfield.
The Reds needed a second-half strike from youngster Harvey Elliott to secure all three points in the European clash after Jonathan David’s goal canceled out Mo Salah’s opener.
Arne slot machineHis men have won all seven of their matches in the league stage so far, and have already qualified for the next stage of the competition with a game to play.
It was just Eliot’s second goal of the season in all competitions, the other coming against Southampton in the League Cup, in a disappointing campaign for the 21-year-old.
The England U21 international has not yet start a match in the Premier League, coming off the bench just eight times so far as he has struggled to become a regular under Slot.
The Liverpool manager preferred the more hard-working, but still technically excellent, options at his disposal, with Alexis MacAllister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones and Ryan Gravenberch.
The slot lacks a first-team star, who is ready to play every week, with the magic in midfield provided by former Reds star Philippe Coutinho.
Philippe Coutinho’s career at Liverpool
Like Elliott, the Brazil international was a diminutive attacking midfielder who looked to make an impact at the top of the pitch with dribbles, shots and key passes.
During his time on Merseyside, Coutinho achieved a comeback 54 goals and 43 assists in 201 appearances for the club in all competitions, showing that he offered quality as both a scorer and goal creator.
Not only was the former Inter Milan wizard’s performance in the final third impressive, but the midfield dynamo was also a joy to watch and a player who had the quality to score goals from nothing.
Coutinho was a gifted talent who could cut off his right foot to score incredible goals at his best, with his amazing ball striking ability and creativity from and through the area as you can see below clip
The Brazilian sensation’s form over the years has finally caught the eye of Spanish giants Barcelona, ​​who swooped in to sign the midfielder for a reported fee of £142m in January 2018.
This represented a huge profit at 8.5 million £ that the club spent to sign him from Inter, which made the initial fee they paid the Italian club look like a bargain in retrospect.
Liverpool could, now, seal a similar deal to land the next version of Coutinho by signing one of their reported targets in the January transfer window.
Liverpool’s interest in Ligue 1 talent
Recently mentioned that Liverpool are one of a number of clubs eyeing a potential move for Lyon attacking midfielder Ryan Cerky before the February deadline.
Transportation focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big name failures. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across the Football FanCast.
The Reds are said to have stepped up their interest in the France U21 international and are willing to pay the Ligue 1 side’s £19million demand for the 21-year-old wizard.
It has been claimed that Lyon’s financial position has forced them to consider cashing in on Czerki this month and a £19m fee would be enough to secure the young star’s services before the end of the January transfer window.
The Premier League leaders are not the only interested party, however, as are Turkish side Fenerbahce reportedly in talks to sign the midfield sensation, while Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich have also connected with the French ace.
This means there could be a lot of competition for his signature and it won’t be an easy task for Liverpool to get over the line as they may have to beat those clubs to a race for his services.
However, Slot should push for the board to complete a move for Cherki before the end of the January transfer window because he could provide a spark in the middle of the park, similar to what Coutinho provided during the during his time at Anfield.
Why Rayan Cherki could be Philippe Coutinho 2.0
Like the Brazilian, Liverpool could sign the Lyon attacking midfielder for a reasonable fee, as £19m hardly breaks the bank for a potentially exciting addition to the squad and leaves room for the club to potentially earn from him in the future. .
Cerki is also a hydraulic attacking midfielder, like Coutinho, who has immense technical quality and the ability to score impressive goals thanks to his striking skills, which were on full display in training for France in the clip below.
The 21-year-old dynamo, who StatsBomb founder Ted Knutson described as a ‘masterful dribbler’, he is already up 22 goals and 33 assists in 163 games in all competitions for Lyon to date, despite his age.
Given that he made his debut in the 2019/20 campaign, it’s easy to forget that Czerki is still an incredibly young player with plenty of time to develop and improve. In fact, The Athletic’s Alex Barker went so far as to say that it is “future Ballon d’Or winner“2023, and it’s still many years away from becoming a reality.
While not yet at Ballon d’Or level, the French playmaker’s form for Lyon, both in and out of Europe, has been very impressive in 2024/25.
|
Ryan Cherki (24/25) |
League 1 |
Europa League |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances (principles) |
14 (9) |
6 (5) |
|
Goals |
3 |
2 |
|
Great opportunities were created |
8 |
8 |
|
Key passes per game |
2.3 |
3.7 |
|
It helps |
3 |
4 |
|
Completed dribbles per game |
2.2 |
3.0 |
As you can see in the table above, Cerki has five goals and 16 ‘big chances’ created in 14 Ligue 1 and Europa League starts combined, which shows his ability to make things happen in the final third on a regular basis base. .
Like Coutinho, the £19m wizard has the ability to dribble past opponents with consistency, while also influencing games with goals, key passes and assists, so he can be a joy for fans to watch.
Related
As such, Slot could land the next version of the Brazilian genius at Liverpool by signing Cherki to come and work his magic every week at Anfield.
