Transfer Scouting Report - Lucas Leiva could patch up Liverpool’s midfield cracks

Thanks to his summer transfer activity, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has different options he can call on for his defence as well as his attack. His central midfield, however, remains a bit light and lacking in quality, with only Lucas Leiva, Steven Gerrard, and now Jordan Henderson proving the only real reliable options at hand.

What’s more, Lucas is the club’s only outright ball-winning midfielder. Given the club’s possession-focused philosophy, a ball-winner is needed to provide the required physicality off the ball. When the Brazilian doesn’t play his absence is notable, as no other midfielder at the club is capable of winning the ball and breaking up the play quite like him.

Proving this is the fact that he made the most interceptions for the club (64) as well as attempted and made the most successful tackles (90 out of 123) last season. In fact, the 90 tackles he successfully made was the joint second-best in the league.

Lucas’s duel success last season

And he is taking the lead again so far this season, winning the most tackles (20) and making the most interceptions (18) for Liverpool to date. The fact that such a vital player doesn’t have an understudy is something Rodgers really needs to address. One player who can help him do that is West Bromwich Albion’s Claudio Yacob.

Rodgers has shown himself to be a manager who thinks outside the box when coming to player recruitment, making the 26-year-old Argentina international a realistic target. He has done very well since signing for the Baggies on a free transfer last summer. He did well from day one, in fact, winning the Man of the Match award on his debut which, coincidentally, was against Liverpool in a game Steve Clarke’s men won 3-0.

Like Lucas, Yacob is fierce in the tackle and is a good reader of the game, providing the perfect foil for his more dynamic partner Youssuf Mulumbu. Interestingly enough, Yacob is the player who was tied for second with Lucas last season for successful tackles made (90). He also made the most interceptions for his club (45). Like Lucas, he leads the way again for his club this season for successful tackles made (29) and is actually tied for third in the league. As for interceptions, Mulumbu has so far made more than him at the club (23 to 16). Still, the two he is averaging per game is very good.

He is also good in the air like Lucas is. The Brazilian, though two centimeters shorter at 1.79 metres, won 52% of his headed duels last season and has won a much-improved 67% so far this season. Yacob, meanwhile, won 54% last season and has won 64% so far this campaign.

On the ball he is also reliable, like Lucas. Both players, averaging the same pass length of 17 metres, completed 87% of their passes last season and have completed 89% so far this term. The Brazilian completed 82.6% of his long passes last season and has a completion percentage of 81.8 so far this season. The Argentine has completion percentages of 71.4 and 81.8 respectively. But noteworthy here is the fact that Yacob attempted more long passes per game due to Clarke’s direct, counter-attacking philosophy. At Liverpool, he would play less long passes in Rodgers’ system, which should result in an even higher pass completion percentage.

He is a very under-rated player, but as can be seen by the numbers above, he is a very effective one indeed. That said, he would provide stiff competition for Lucas and prove a valuable addition to the side.