How Liverpool would have lined up with Mbappe
Robin Bairner
- 16 May 2022 22:32 BST
- 3 min read
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp’s revelations that his side held an interest in Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe are unlikely to come as a surprise.
Mbappe is a player who appears built for Klopp’s dynamic brand of football, with his fearsome pace and technical qualities an ideal combination for the style the Anfield club play in.
And the feeling appears to be mutual, too, with Mbappe having praised the Reds in a 2020 interview with the BBC, in which he branded them “a machine”.
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Liverpool with Mbappe
Real Madrid appear to have won the race to the soon-to-be out of contract superstar but Liverpool might have looked fearsome with him in their ranks.
With Luis Diaz thriving on the left since arriving from Porto in January, Mbappe would likely have filled the centre-forward position that has been a complicated spot for Klopp to fill, despite the industry of Roberto Firmino. Of course, he could have flitted out to the left when Diaz was unavailable, leaving the No.9 role free for Firmino, who will soon be entering the last year of his contract, to fill.
Indeed, Liverpool will soon have a conundrum in attack, with Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah both out of contract imminently and new deals struggling to be agreed. Mbappe’s arrival, though, would have given the Reds more leverage in their talks, with one of the African pair knowing that they would be suddenly expendable.
Mane is the player who looks closer to leaving at present – although Salah has been touted as an Mbappe replacement at PSG – so working on this basis, the Egyptian will play wide in this imagined team.
Meanwhile, the remainder of the Liverpool starting XI has a familiar look, with Klopp typically favouring a slow process of evolution in his team. Mbappe will not be part of that, it seems, but the Reds could have been even more exciting had he chosen them ahead of Real Madrid.
