Klopp could land his own Sane as Liverpool eye up £38.5m magician

The January transfer window is officially open for business and Liverpool could decide to dip into the market to bolster the squad this month.

Jurgen Klopp‘s side are currently competing to win the Premier League title and are in the knockout stages of the Europa League, which means that they are on course to secure silverware this year.

However, nothing is guaranteed and adding a player or two to the group over the next few weeks could provide the team with a boost ahead of the second half of the campaign.

A signing early on this month could also help to cover for Mohamed Salah, who is due to feature at the African Cup of Nations for Egypt.

The Liverpool superstar could miss up to eight matches in all competitions if his side make it all the way to the final, and the Reds have been linked with another winger.

Liverpool transfer news – Johan Bakayoko

Italian journalist Rudy Galetti has claimed that the Reds have their eye on PSV forward Johan Bakayoko, as he is a player they ‘strongly’ appreciate.

Alongside Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur are also eyeing up the Belgian starlet as they look to bolster their wide options before the end of the month.

This comes after Football Insider reported in September that Klopp’s side are one of five English clubs with a ‘concrete’ interest in the 20-year-old magician, with all of those teams doing their due diligence on him ahead of a possible swoop for his services in 2024.

However, neither of those reports claimed how much it would take for Liverpool to reach an agreement with the Eredivisie outfit to snap him up.

During the summer transfer window, the Evening Standard reported that fellow Premier League side Brentford failed in a bid to sign the talented forward.

The Bees submitted a bid worth up to £34m for him and were confident that an agreement could be reached before the deadline but PSV wanted £38.5m for his services, which caused the prospective move to fall through. This suggests that the Reds could need to splash out around £38.5m to add Bakayoko to their squad.

Klopp could land his own version of Leroy Sane, who has also been linked with a move to Anfield, by striking a deal to sign the PSV star.

Sport BILD reporter Christian Falk claimed in November that both Liverpool and Manchester City are keen on a deal to sign the Germany international from Bayern Munich at the end of the 2023/24 campaign.

His current contract with the Bavarian side is due to expire in the summer of 2025 and this means that the upcoming summer window could be their last chance to secure a fee for him, unless the exciting whiz decides to put pen to paper on a contract extension before then.

Leroy Sane’s season in numbers

The 27-year-old magician has been in phenomenal form for Bayern so far this season in the Bundesliga and has proven his quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals.

He has produced an outstanding eight goals and eight assists in 15 top-flight matches, which shows that Sane has been a constant threat in the final third.

As you can see from the table above, the Bayern star has already outperformed his output in front of goal for the entire of the 2022/23 Bundesliga campaign.

Sane is currently averaging 3.3 key passes per game and has created a staggering 12 ‘big chances’ for his teammates this term, which shows that he is able to carve open opposition defences at will.

A left-footed right winger, the former Manchester City star is able to cut inside onto his stronger foot from the right flank to score or create a chance, whilst he also has the quality to go down the line to produce a cross with his weaker right foot.

The German whiz, who has one goal and one assist in five Champions League games this term, is also a proven Premier League performer. He produced 25 goals and 32 assists in 90 top-flight games for the Cityzens before his move back to his home country.

The statistics that show why Bakayoko could be Klopp’s own Sane

Liverpool could prevent the need to sign Sane from Bayern at the end of the season by securing a deal to sign Bakayoko from PSV this month.

As you can see in the table above, the Germany international is the most similar player to the Belgian youngster based on their respective statistics in the Champions League this season.

Bakayoko ranks within the top 11% of attacking midfielders and wingers for shot-creating actions (5.37) per 90 in the competition this term, which is higher than Sane – who is situated in the top 31% with 4.10 shot-creating actions per 90.

Like the Bayern star, the Liverpool target is a left-footed winger who can cut inside to make an impact in the final third as a scorer and a creator of goals.

This season, Bakayoko has produced three goals, eight assists, and nine ‘big chances’ created in 14 Eredivisie starts for PSV, which shows that he is an exceptional creative talent.

He has not been a prolific scorer but his teammates have also only provided him with 2.88 xG worth of chances, which suggests that more goals could come from him in a better team.

The 20-year-old magician has made 2.7 key passes per game and this is a tally that only Trent Alexander Arnold (2.8) can beat for Liverpool in the Premier League.

These statistics suggest that Bakayoko, who was hailed as “electric” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has the potential to be an outstanding creator for the Reds in terms of their forward options.

Therefore, the £38.5m-rated whiz could be Klopp’s own version of Sane as a terrific left-footed winger who can create chances for his teammates at an exceptional rate, whilst he also has plenty of room left to develop and improve at the age of 20.