Liverpool: Why Timo Werner is a better option than Kalidou Koulibaly
By Quinn Allen
Liverpool are heavily linked with Werner and Koulibaly, but from a financial standpoint, they won’t be able to buy both players…
Jurgen Klopp’s side was practically unstoppable this season in every aspect, whether it was bagging goals or defending at an extremely high level against their Premier League counterparts. Liverpool are currently leading the race for Leipzig striker Timo Werner’s signature, recently telling the player to give them a little bit more time to round up the necessary funds to activate his 52 million euros release clause.
The German is one of the finest young attackers in Europe, emerging as a star with Leipzig over the last two seasons as he looks ready for his next challenge in the Premier League. The 24-year-old has voiced his desire to move to Liverpool, especially given his admiration of Klopp.
Recently though, the Reds have entered the chase for one of the best central defenders in world football, Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly. The Senegalese international has also attracted the interest of Manchester United, Arsenal, Newcastle, and Everton.
At this point, Liverpool is just tracking his development. But, imagine a backline anchored by Koulibaly and Van Dijk? It would be almost impossible for opposing attackers to break through those two.
With Coronavirus expected to affect the transfer market heavily, there is no chance the Reds would be able to buy Werner and Koulibaly. The latter would cost almost double the price of Werner, with Napoli asking for a fee of around 90 million euros for their star defender.
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Looking at Liverpool’s current front three of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, and Sadio Mane, they’re in good hands. But Werner is a young and hungry striker ready to prove himself in the top league in Europe and has the versatility to play in a number of different positions in the final third, whether it’s out wide or as a number nine/ten.
Given his style of play and physicality, he would be a perfect fit in England. Even with their current attacking line, Werner would definitely earn his minutes within a competitive Liverpool side. 46 goals across the last two seasons is remarkable in itself. He has nothing left to prove in Germany and would be a wonderful asset to Klopp’s squad.
Koulibaly is the full package at his position, possessing tremendous strength on the ground and aerially, while also having the pace to track back into his own end and chase down oppositions. The report from Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport did mention that Liverpool could offer Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip as part of a swap deal with Napoli in order to lower the Italian side’s asking price for Koulibaly.
Werner is the better choice
Liverpool’s current backline of Andy Robertson, Virgil Van Dijk, Joe Gomez, and Trent Alexander-Arnold has been spectacular. Gomez has earned his stripes as Van Dijk’s preferred partner at centre-back and although the Englishman may not be as physically gifted as Koulibaly, he’s done a hell of a job for the Merseysiders over the last two seasons. Napoli is clearly not keen on giving up their prized possession in Koulibaly and the Reds currently have a solid backline.
Although Klopp’s front three have been fantastic, there have been moments where they do struggle to put the ball in the back of the net. There were far too many close matches this term of 1-0, 2-1 scorelines because they couldn’t finish clear-cut opportunities.
Adding a player of Werner’s quality is not only going to create more competition within their attackers, but also give them a player who is the full package and a clinical finisher.
Koulibaly would be a wonderful addition, but his asking price is much higher than Werner’s and his services aren’t needed at Anfield right now. There are also no guarantees that Napoli would even be interested in the swap deal including Lovren and Matip. Snatching the German however for just over 50 million euros is a steal for the Reds given his abilities.
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If Liverpool had to choose between the two, Timo Werner would be the better addition right now given where the club is at.