Do Liverpool need this 25 year old Watford star?

With the imminent departure of Emre Can, there are a number of midfielders that are linked to Liverpool including the likes of Jorginho, Wilfred Ndidi, etc.

Among such names is Watford’s star man Abdoulaye Doucoure. The French player was linked to the Reds by several media outlets and the team’s interest in him was confirmed by Doucoure himself in January.

This week the 25-year-old opened up about his future, when he said that it “would be a dream” to move to the Merseyside club.

If a felicitous offer is put on the table for the former Rennes player, the Hornets would be tempted to sell him.

However, would Doucoure be a good buy for Liverpool if they indeed decide to move for the Frenchman.

To analyse if the player would be a good fit for the Jurgen Klopp-managed team, we should see what Liverpool need in their side at the moment.

Even though Can is expected to go through the door for free come the summer, Liverpool have Naby Keita coming in. The Reds are expected to bring in one more midfielder to occupy one of the two other spots in the middle of the park.

We have seen that Keita is a box-to-box midfielder, who can dribble past some bodies and even has a sting in his boots. While Liverpool’s ‘fab three’ of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah are expected to continue with their ‘delightful stuff’ next season, Keita could be the one who bridge the midfield and the attack of the team.

So the RB Leipzig player’s partners should be someone who are more defensive minded than attacking. Someone who can give Keita the confidence to go forward without having to fret about leaving his defence exposed.

While Doucoure might not be of the ‘Keita’ mould, he is an attacking minded player. This has been as clear as daylight from his performances this season, with him scoring seven goals and assisting three in the league.

The 25-year-old could be the central midfield partner for Keita. Doucoure indeed has the abilities to play in such high intensity side.

However, there is another concern. Liverpool already have the likes of Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in their arsenal who can already play the same role as Doucoure could play if he joins the Reds.

It would not be a good idea to buy the Frenchman to play along with Keita considering the fact that Liverpool already have quite a number of players who could take up the same responsibility.

It would be ideal for Klopp to look for a proper defensive midfielder, who can act as a cover to the team’s defence rather than going for a midfielder like Doucoure.

The Watford player has played as defensive midfielder before and can play in the role quite well, but he still is not a proper dirty player that Liverpool need.

In my opinion, Victor Wanyama and Wilfred Ndidi would be better options for Klopp than Doucoure and it would be also better for the player to keep a move to Liverpool just a ‘dream’.

 

Written by Dakir Thanveer

Follow Dakir on Twitter @ZakWriter

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