Liverpool have been strongly linked with a move for Federico Valverde this summer and now a new update has emerged on the club's pursuit of the player.
Is Federico Valverde joining Liverpool?
According to reports in Spain earlier this week, the Reds are keen on bringing the Uruguayan to Anfield this summer.
It's said that Jurgen Klopp is obsessed with the idea of signing him and believes the player would fit perfectly into his tactical set-up.
As a result, Liverpool are preparing an offer of €90m (£77m) in an attempt to bring him to English football.
An offer at this expense will seem incredibly unlikely owing to FSG's tight spending structure and would make the Los Blancos talent the club's record-breaking signing ahead of Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker and Darwin Nunez.
How good is Federico Valverde?
There is no doubt that Valverde would be an incredible asset in the centre of the park for Liverpool and should an opportunity arise to snap up the midfielder's services, it is one that should not be ignored.
The 24-year-old Champions League winner is one of the hottest prospects in his position across Europe; ranking in the top 16% of his positional peers across the top five European leagues for non-penalty goals, shots on goal, pass completion and progressive carries.
Owing to his attacking strengths, Valverde – hailed a "monster" by football talent scout Jacek Kulig – could be the perfect player to partner new signing Dominik Szoboszlai next season – causing chaos alongside the Hungarian ace to form an unstoppable threat and boost creativity to provide huge chances for their teammates in the final third.
Over last season, the Uruguay international displayed some key attributes that could complement Szoboszlai's weaknesses in his game, as Valverde is a much more prolific and confident ball-winner proven in his aerial duels won (73.8% v 28%), successful take-ons (70.5% v 50.5%) and dribblers tackled rate (50% v 40.5%), as per FBref.
Comparatively, the newly-signed Liverpool star was much more efficient in breaking the lines of attack to play the final ball into the box with more shot-creating actions per 90 (5.52 v 2.91), goal-creating actions per 90 (0.63 v 0.50), more assists (8 v 4) and a better shot on target rate (48.3% v 33.3%), proving that combining the pair's best attributes could cover the entire path to the final third with ease.
It remains to be seen whether Valverde will be allowed to leave Real Madrid this summer as Carlo Ancelotti is a huge admirer of his player and has previously claimed that he is an "untouchable" member of his squad, however, the Italian coach is set to leave in 2024 upon the expiry of his contract after accepting the Brazil national team job, so there is a possibility he could sanction a move.
With that being said, it would be a no-brainer to snap up the services of Valverde this summer and if Jurgen Klopp can convince FSG to table the transfer fee required it could set up Liverpool's midfield for years to come.
