Liverpool want Konrad Laimer, according to reports, and the Austrian could be their Jordan Henderson replacement. In the long-term, it seems inevitable.
Sky Germany reports that Liverpool want Konrad Laimer and are already planning to sign a midfielder in January. Laimer is, admittedly, a very obvious transfer target.
He’s out of contract in the summer, meaning RB Leipzig could definitely be tempted into a sale ahead of time. After all, they stand to lose him for free as it is. Selling him in January would at least get something for him.
But that doesn’t mean he’d go cheap. Laimer is an excellent player and Leipzig would need to weigh-up any transfer fee against six months of a brilliant talent. They may still want £20m for the player, if their ambitions are high enough.
Liverpool must do the opposite. They’d need to weigh-up any transfer fee against what they could miss out on without a new signing. If Laimer would be the difference between Champions League qualification and a Europa League place, he’s well worth £20m – £30m in January.
But whether it’s January or the summer, Laimer is a player worth pushing for. He could end up being the replacement for Jordan Henderson.
From Jordan Henderson to Konrad Laimer
Replacing Henderson’s leadership on the pitch will be a nightmare but it doesn’t necessarily need to come from his replacement positionally. Instead, Liverpool will focus on a midfielder who can deliver what their captain does as a player, not necessarily as a leader.
One factor stands out with Henderson: intensity. He’s someone who presses the hardest, with the most consistency, and maintains a work-rate standard for everyone else to follow.
Liverpool won’t want to lose that as he moves through his 30s. There isn’t a prominent youth player to fill that role, either, with all of the best young midfielders on the books being attacking players.
Signing someone, then, feels essential. Laimer can be that player. As we’ve discussed before, he’s arguably the best pressing-midfielder in Europe and we see no better replacement for Henderson’s energy on the pitch.
He is, as Julian Nagelsmann once called him, a ‘ball-winning machine’. When Liverpool look to find their Henderson replacement, their player to lead the press and maintain intensity, we see no better option.
A January arrival could be game-changing.
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