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Liverpool could sell Rhian Brewster, reportedly, suggesting that Jurgen Klopp is fully involved in their unconventional tactic.
Sky Sports, among others, reports that Liverpool could sell Brewster. However, the 20-year-old would collect £ 20 million and the Reds haven’t quite made a decision.
(Photo by John Powell / Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
But the potential is there. Various teams supposedly want him and it could be that Liverpool cash in on one of their brightest prospects.
We have written quite a few articles in the last few months about the potential of Brewster. He’s a reliable scorer who has scored 11 goals in his senior first half season, after all, and someone who already knows Liverpool well.
We think this is potentially a response to Liverpool’s lack of goals from the bench. But Klopp and company. it may feel different. And if Klopp does, it suggests they are on an unconventional tactic: False 9.
Playing his way
Liverpool are one of the few elite teams to play without a pure 9. Manchester City have Sergio Agüero, Bayern Munich have Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona have Luis Suárez and Real Madrid have Karim Benzema.
They are all fantastic all-round players, but first and foremost they are scorers. But Liverpool, against the current, uses Roberto Firmino.
The Brazilian is naturally a number 10, but Klopp converted him to play as a forward. However, just by name. Firmino rarely “leads the line” and is never the main goal threat. Instead, his movement and form of play creates space for the scoring wingers, the real threat on Liverpool’s side.
And all of this is particularly relevant now. Liverpool’s three forwards, Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, are 28 years old and will need to be replaced in no time.
That is a difficult task, given how unique Firmino is and how good everyone else is. So difficult, in fact, that it makes perfect sense to move toward a more conventional front. Brewster, in his 20s, would surely be well positioned to be a mainstream No. 9.
However, selling it suggests that this is not the plan. Instead, Liverpool will have two obvious options for the center forward in their 4-3-3: Firmino and Takumi Minamino. There’s also Divock Origi, of course, but we don’t see a bright future in Liverpool for the Belgian.
Minamino is the first player who can truly offer Firmino competition in that role. He is stylistically similar, while his age (25) suggests that he could take over for years to come.
It is also important to note that the central role is not the only one he can play, unlike Brewster. Therefore, Minamino can still have regular football alongside Firmino, while covering him.
(Photo by John Powell / Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Those chances of them increasing with Liverpool potentially selling out Brewster. The mere fact that they are considering it is enough to tell you that they are not sure about playing that way. Brewster is a very talented forward, after all, and “free” – taking chances with him costs nothing.
But if that means playing the ‘wrong’ style, then maybe Klopp just isn’t that interested. And finding players who play the way Liverpool want is more important than sheer skill.
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