IMAGINE HIM & JOTA: Perfect deal for LFC ‘dominant’ £51m magician

Reports say that the Reds are thinking about making a summer raid on the talented winger.

This summer, Arne Slot, who is currently the boss of Liverpool, will have to take over from Jurgen Klopp at Anfield. He will be hoping that the first season goes well the following year.

The Dutch manager is likely to come from Feyenoord before the 2024–25 season, and it’s possible that he will put the upcoming summer transfer window first.

By making changes to the lineup, he will be able to add his own style to the team while still being supervised by the team at the club above him.

Because Klopp has been at the club for almost nine years and has built the team to fit his way of play and tastes in style, it might take Liverpool a while to get used to a new coach with new ideas.

klopp-liverpool-last-game

This means that Slot may need patience from both the board and the fans over the next few months as new players get used to the new style of play and old players get used to the new hires.

Even though it’s only May, Liverpool seems to be trying to add stars to their team to make it stronger. They are said to be after a player from the Eredivisie.

Football Insider reports that Liverpool is looking for a genius in the Eredivisie and that the Reds want to sign PSV star Johan Bakayoko this summer to give them more choices.

It is said that the biggest teams in the Premier League want to sign the Belgian player and have been after him for a “while.”

This means that they were interested in the young forward before Slot went to Anfield. It also suggests that the club may be more focused on the player than the Dutch coach, who has had a tough season with PSV and Bakayoko.

Johan Bakayoko for PSV

The source also says that talks about Mohamed Salah’s short-term future on Merseyside are set to happen in the coming weeks. The Eredivisie star is being looked at as a possible long-term replacement for the Egypt international.

But it’s still not clear if the Liverpool player will leave this summer or stay for at least one more season, maybe helping Bakayoko learn the game if the team can sign him.

A claim from March from Sky German’s Patrick Berger says that PSV is demanding a transfer fee of up to €60 million (£51 million) for the winger. The Reds are ready to pay him a certain amount, but that amount is still unknown.

But if Slot and the hire team can get a deal done for the 21-year-old star, they might be able to get a player who would be a great addition to Diogo Jota at Anfield.

Johan Bakayoko’s amazing drawing skills

The Belgian master has been playing great for the Dutch team for the past year or two, showing that he can make a big difference at the top of the pitch, especially as a creator.

In the last 365 days, Bakayoko has been in the top 9% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the Men’s Next 14 Competitions (other than the big five leagues) in terms of expected assists per 90 minutes (0.29) and assists per 90 minutes (0.32).

Johan Bakayoko for PSV

Aside from that, he is in the top 8% of his positional peers for non-penalty xG and xAG combined per 90 (0.60), and he is in the top 12% for actions that create shots per 90 (5.20).

Over the course of a year, these numbers show how consistently well the Reds target has done in setting up teammates. This makes him one of the most creative players in his position in those tournaments.

You can see that Bakayoko was much faster in the final third than present Liverpool winger Luis Diaz, even though they play in a different league.

He scored more goals with less space and created more chances for his teammates, even though he played in four fewer games than the Colombian international. The 21-year-old left-footed gem plays on the right side.

These numbers show that the Belgium international, who boss Ruud van Nistelrooy has called “dominant,” would do well playing next to a clinical centre forward with Jota at Anfield.

This is why Diogo Jota might be a good fit for Johan Bakayoko

Since the ex-Wolverhampton Wanderers star has shown that he can score goals, the Portuguese shooter might be the best person for the winger to play with.

Liverpool forward Diogo Jota

Bakayoko only registered nine assists from 10.61 xA and 12 ‘big chances’ created in the Eredivisie during the 2023/24 campaign, which suggests that his teammates let him down with their wastefulness in front of goal as they did not make the most of his creativity.

That may not be the case if he gets the chance to play alongside Jota on a consistent basis next season as the right-footed forward, who can play out wide or through the middle, is a clinical attacker.

The 27-year-old star scored a lot more goals than his xG, making him the most cruel finisher on the Liverpool team in the Premier League this season (see table above).

He also scored seven goals in the top league (6.5 xG) and three goals in the Europa League (2.08 xG) in the 2022–2023 season.

It’s clear from these numbers that Jota is always great at scoring goals and that he often misses great chances to score for Liverpool.Based on how well he played for PSV, Bakayoko could be Slot’s dream top-level partner at Anfield. The 21-year-old artist has the ability to be a huge creative force for Slot.They might be a good fit for the club because the Belgian wizard could regularly create great chances for Jota to take advantage of, just like he did for the Dutch team this season and in the future.