Liverpool must sign £137m-rated ace who’s out dribbled Cruyff & Maradona at World Cups – opinion
Liverpool are no strangers to creating recent history; just ask Jurgen Klopp what he’s achieved at Anfield.
He has secured their first Premier League crown, holds the club record (44) for most league games unbeaten, the most away matches (21) in the league without a loss and averages more points per game than any Reds manager in the last 126 years.
Therefore, the idea that his position is under threat following a rough start to the season is quite frankly laughable. This is a man who has taken Liverpool to new heights but if he is to continue to do that, new signings are needed in the January transfer market.
Jude Bellingham has been the name touted with the Reds for a long time now but there is an alternative in mind; Jamal Musiala.
The £137m-rated talent has been nothing short of exceptional for Bayern Munich this term, scoring 12 and assisting ten.
That record is astonishing, but it becomes even more frightening when you realise he is still only 19 years of age.
Musiala’s scintillating form unsurprisingly saw him named in the Germany squad for the World Cup, but not even he could stop the 2014 winners from exiting the tournament at the group stages for the second edition running.
Despite that, he still had a remarkable time in Qatar, making history in the process.
Born in Germany, Musiala was actually raised in England for much of his childhood. Consequently, he was part of the Three Lions’ youth set up before committing his international allegiances to the nation of his birth.
England’s loss has been Germany’s gain with the teenager demonstrating precisely why Liverpool need to add him to their ranks in 2023.
The term generational is often thrown around far too regularly but the youngster is very much reaching that bracket.
He is a next-level talent and his numbers in the Middle East this autumn is evidence of that.
The attacking midfielder, who can also play on the wing, may not have found the net during the tournament but he did provide an assist in the 1-1 draw with Spain. It was a draw that ultimately proved costly in their hopes of winning the World Cup.
They would later beat Costa Rica but it was too little too late, even if the teen did record a piece of his own history. He recorded an astonishing 13 successful dribbles, a tally that defeats some of the very best to play the game.
It’s better than Lionel Messi’s haul of 11 vs Mexico in South Africa in 2010, it’s more than Diego Maradona against Hungary in 1982 and it’s even greater than Johan Cruyff’s 12 when the Netherlands took on Sweden in 1974.
Here was the list before tonight.
I repeat, he’s 19. pic.twitter.com/HTGBHfVHd6
— VisualGame (@avisualgame) December 1, 2022
In fact, there is only one player who can better Musiala’s record; Jay-Jay Okocha. The Nigerian was a wizard with the ball at his feet and once completed an astonishing 15 dribbles against Italy in 1994.
With that in mind, it’s evident that only the greats can possess such awe-inspiring numbers, with the German sensation clearly on his way to becoming an elite individual.
He is already among the best in World Cup history and is perhaps even better with the ball at his feet than a certain Mo Salah.
Indeed, those numbers are evident throughout the 2022/23 campaign with the Egyptian registering 1.1 dribbles per game in the English top flight to Musiala’s 1.6 in the Bundesliga. That tally becomes even larger when referring back to the World Cup again, with his record of 6.3 per match better than anyone in Qatar.
Try as they might, defenders find it incredibly hard to get the ball from him with his ability to draw the opposition towards him only opening up space for his teammates to thrive.
Liverpool are already incredible in attack but it’s clear adding a player of the Germany international’s talent to their ranks is too hard to turn down.
Even if he’s not shown his goal-scoring prowess in Qatar, his ability with the ball at his feet has been simply mesmerising. Premier League defences will have to watch out if Julian Ward can tie up a deal in the New Year.
