It seems a long time before Liverpool had any consistent and strong full back in their ranks. Last recognized right-back or left-back who played for the Merseyside club seems to be John Arne Riise. After him, Liverpool had a series of flops in that particular position. Paul Konchesky and Andrea Dossena tops the list of those full back transfers over which Liverpool had to repent later on. Different managers tried different options but none of those solved the problems for a long period of time.
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Last season, Brendan Rodgers tried different possibilities. Jon Flanagan, Aly Cissokho, Jose Enrique, Glen Johnson and even Daniel Agger played in that position but all in vain. Liverpool conceded whooping 50 goals last season and that was the end of Aly Cissokho. Even though central defenders were not too bright as well, but the performance of wing backs was wide off the mark.
After adding Emre Can, Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Divock Origi and Lazar Markovic to his squad, Liverpool manager is now looking at a couple of full back options. And his favourite player for that job seems to be the Spaniard Alberto Moreno. The 22 year old, FC Sevilla left-back is on LFC radar since the start of transfer window and after suffering consecutive setbacks in his pursuit, the Merseyside club have now finally struck gold.
Major sources are now reporting this deal as ‘Done’ after Chief Executive Officer of Liverpool FC has flown to Spain last night to conclude a deal. Moreno, who started his career as a Winger, is now turned into a left back. Many football pundits compare this young Spaniard to Jordi Alba. Terry Gibson, a well-known football analyst and a La Liga expert has said in a recent interview about Alberto Moreno,
“He is a really good attacking left back. He’s very much like Jordi Alba.”
Comparison:
If we look at the comparison of Liverpool full backs with Moreno, the Sevilla man has a slight edge in that case.
If we look at the comparison of Liverpool full backs with Moreno, the Sevilla man has a slight edge in that case.
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Interceptions Per Game
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Dribbled past per game
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Duels won per game
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Loss of Possession per game
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Flanagan
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1.7
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1.7
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46.74%
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1
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Enrique
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1.2
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0.8
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59.9%
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1.9
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Johnson
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1.7
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0.3
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54.97%
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1.2
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Moreno
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2.5
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0.6
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46.69%
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0.6
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If we look at interceptions per game, this is an area where Liverpool needs to improve. Moreno has made double amount of interceptions as compared to the likes of Flanagan, Enrique and Johnson.
Moreno made 73 interceptions of opponents passes as compared to combine 67 of LFC’s 3 full backs combined.
But one area where Moreno has to improve is his physical fitness. Having a lean figure makes it so difficult for him to brush aside opposing strikers. Jose Enrique, for an eminent reason, tops list in this regard.
Attacking side:
Liverpool FC have transformed their playing style to attack over last few seasons. They scored 100 goals last season. So such a vigorous attack needs pacey full backs as well. As far as the Merseyside club is concerned, the old school theory about a full-back to remain in his position does not seem good enough. Alberto Moreno will just be the right kind of a defender Liverpool need.
Having scored 4 goals last season compared to 2 of Liverpool both wing-backs, Moreno has a bright attacking side as well. He likes to take the ball forward for a shot on goal. But the number of assists he made last season doesn’t portray such a good picture. Having assisted zero goals last season, this is an area of his game where Moreno has to improve in order to gain Rodgers’ permanent starting 11 spot.
In short, Alberto Moreno has a bright future. And if he plays under Brendan Rodgers, he can end the misery Liverpool have had in that position for years now.
Amir Bashir follow him on Twitter.
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