Director ‘amazed’ Liverpool didn’t sign Napoli midfielder – did they make a mistake?

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One Italian director is ‘amazed’ that a club like Liverpool didn’t sign Napoli midfielder Andre-Frank Anguissa this summer. Did the Reds make a mistake there?

Napoli brought in midfielder Andre-Frank Anguissa from Fulham this summer. He’s initially there on a loan, though there’s apparently a £12m option to buy the player.

And Anguissa has kicked off the season very well. He’s winning two tackles per game, completing three dribbles per game and just generally looking good as Napoli enjoy a great start to the season.

In fact, Anguissa is playing so well that people in Italy wonder how they got him. After all, he was playing at Fulham last season – right under the noses of some massive clubs.

Walter Sabatini, a former director at Lazio, Roma and Palermo among others, can’t quite believe that a club like Liverpool didn’t sign Anguissa.

“I don’t understand how [anyone in] the Premier League didn’t notice [Anguissa],” he told CalcioNapoli24. “I am amazed that the two Manchester teams, Chelsea and Liverpool did not arrive on a Fulham player.”

So is he right? Did Liverpool miss a trick here?

Should Liverpool have moved for Napoli midfielder Anguissa?

Liverpool arguably have the biggest question mark over them here. After all, they lost Gini Wijnaldum in the summer, leaving a gap in their midfield options.

And with Anguissa, there was a player to step into that gap very well. He’s a physical presence in midfield who dribbles spectacularly well for a 6ft+ player.

Per FBref, Anguissa is in the 99th percentile for midfielders when it comes to dribbling. It’s certainly something Liverpool had with Wijnaldum – a player who could win the ball back and keep it at an elite level.

So we imagine the real problem here was Anguissa’s form. He only really shone for Fulham in bursts and went through long spells where he didn’t offer all that much.

That likely put Liverpool off and it’s something Napoli could still witness themselves. After all, we’re only looking at a ten-game sample size in Italy.

There is a chance that Liverpool kick themselves for missing out if Anguissa keeps up his form all season. Until then, they did have a legitimate reason to avoid the transfer.

We’ll see how this one looks at the end of the campaign.