Liverpool's summer transfer window started with such promise, and despite the exciting acquisitions of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, the din of the alarm bells threatens to ring across Anfield with the 23/24 Premier League campaign just one week away.
James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's Anfield exits were to be expected – the trio concluding their contracts and deemed surplus to requirements – but the Saudi Arabian swoops for Fabinho and Jordan Henderson have left Liverpool light in the holding midfield department.
Romeo Lavia is of a vested interest, though the Reds are unwilling to meet Southampton's £50m fee, and regardless of that particular quandary, Jurgen Klopp must reexamine intrigue in Crystal Palace midfielder Eberechi Eze following a recent update on the midfielder's situation.
What's the latest on Eberechi Eze to Liverpool?
According to talkSPORT, Eze has shown a reluctance to enter negotiations for a new contract at Selhurst Park with a host of top European outfits interested; he has two years remaining on his current deal.
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Liverpool were reported to be monitoring the situation for the dynamo in June, and Klopp could now be inclined to revisit a deal for the Eagles star, who is thought to be valued at €30m (£26m).
How good is Eberechi Eze?
The 25-year-old completed a cross-London transfer from Queens Park Rangers to Selhurst Park for £20m in 2020, scoring 15 goals and supplying 11 assists from 93 matches across all competitions.
The fleet-footed phenom is no stranger to adversity, rupturing his Achilles moments before receiving a call-up to England's European Championship squad in May 2021, consequently making just 13 appearances during the 21/22 term.
However, the £30k-per-week ace, who finally made his England debut this summer, scored ten goals and supplied four assists in the English top-flight last season, notably coming into his own toward the business end of the campaign, scoring six goals and providing one assist across the final nine outings as the Eagles constructed a late purple patch under the stewardship of the sagely Roy Hodgson.
After said exploits, Eze now boasts a considerable stature on the European scene, and it is no wonder he is attracting attention from outfits such as Liverpool, now ranking among the top 1% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 6% for shot-creating actions, the top 16% for progressive carries and the top 1% for successful take-ons per 90, as per FBref.
Eze typically occupies the attacking role in the midfield, though he has found success across a melange of deployments, and if Klopp choose to utilise him in a way that will allow his box-crashing qualities to be displayed, it could prove to be a masterstroke of a signing.
Especially when considering the dynamic partnership he could forge with Mohamed Salah, whose all-encompassing offensive could allow Eze to find dangerous openings with impressive regularity.
Salah has been sensational since completing a £34m transfer to Liverpool from Roma in 2017, scoring 186 goals and serving 79 assists from 305 displays for the Merseyside outfit, earning acclaim as "one of the greatest of all time" by former Ballon d'Or winner Michael Owen.
The £350k-per-week Egyptian ranks among the top 3% of attacking midfielders and wingers for goals, the top 13% for assists and the top 1% for touches in the attacking box per 90, and given his innate ability to find goals and assists in abundance, a gem like Eze will have no problem getting in on the action by utilising their own skill in darting into promising positions.
Dubbed a "magician" by Sky Sports pundit Micah Richards, Eze would take the next step in his development and then some with a move to Anfield, and Klopp must consider the effect it could have on the overall cohesion and attacking verve of his team, and make his move.