Liverpool tracking 6 ft 3 ‘leader’ who excelled on visit to Anfield last season – report
Winning at Anfield is a rare feat for an opposition player – only five teams have managed it in the past three years – and one man who belongs in that esteemed company is now reportedly of interest to Liverpool.
According to CaughtOffside, the Reds are continuing to monitor Joachim Andersen – who excelled when Crystal Palace won in L4 in April – as a potential transfer target this month.
That’s in addition to LFC’s ongoing interest in his centre-back partner Marc Guehi, who’s believed to be flattered by the admiring glances from Merseyside but is valued at £50m+ by the Eagles.
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Andersen’s last couple of visits to Anfield have been quite eventful – two years ago he was on the end of a Darwin Nunez headbutt which saw the Uruguayan sent off on his home debut for Liverpool, and last season he made a whopping 13 clearances when Palace ended our unbeaten Premier League record on our own turf.
He also captained Fulham when they triumphed 1-0 in L4 in March 2021, so the towering Dane – who’s been hailed as a ‘leader’ by Shay Given on Match of the Day 2 – has a habit of coming away from Merseyside a happy man.
With Joe Gomez’s future being thrown into doubt in recent days, the Reds may be looking towards the 28-year-old as a possible replacement if our current number 2 is sold – coincidentally, the Eagles are among several clubs to have been linked with him.
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Andersen’s 6 foot 3 stature immediately makes him stand out as a hulking presence at the back, and he and Virgil van Dijk could potentially form quite an intimidating central defensive partnership.
However, it seems unlikely that Liverpool would spend big on a player who’s already 28 and whose performance metrics suggest that he wouldn’t be the best fit for the style of play which has been apparent in our pre-season so far.
As per FBref, his 78.4% pass completion is among the bottom 10% of positional peers in Europe over the past year, which raises the question as to how comfortable he’d be in playing out from the back.
For now, the Reds’ interest in Andersen seems preliminary, although he could become an increasingly viable candidate for us this month depending on whether a player in that position leaves Anfield.
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