Liverpool’s move for Piotr Zielinski is set to be delayed due to the midfielder’s participation in the European Championships with Poland. Elsewhere Hull City’s Andrew Robertson has emerged as another target for Klopp in the left-back position.
The Reds haven’t made any significant break-through in the transfer window since their signing of Loris Karius from FSV Mainz early on in June. Since then, Liverpool have been fervently linked with Udinese’s on-loan midfielder, Piotr Zielinski. The Polish midfielder has dished out numerous hints favouring a move to Anfield ever since he was first linked with the Reds a couple of months back. Liverpool have since submitted a £9.5 million bid for the youngster, however it seems any move for the 22-year-old would only be possible after the Euros.
Reports from Italy suggest that Udinese have accepted a bid for the youngster, however no official agreement has been completed at the moment. Zielinski wants to keep his focus on the national side ahead of Poland’s round of 16 encounter with Switzerland, before any matter regarding his future can be resolved.
With interest coming in from Napoli as well for their midfielder, Udinese slapped a £15 million price tag on Zielinski. However, with the player heavily favouring a move to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, the Italians look set to give into the Reds’ original bid. Zielinski, who joined Udinese in 2011 from Zaglebie Lubin in his homeland, has spent the past two seasons on loan at Empoli.
Zielinski scored five goals and provided four assists in 36 appearances last season in what turned out to be a break-through season for the youngster. Having played most of his football as a central midfielder, Zielinski can also perform out wide or in the No 10 role.
The 22-year-old was among Empoli’s star players last season playing a role of a box-to-box center-midfielder for the Italian side. Zielinski helps initiate build-up play with an 82% pass accuracy of which 63% are those with an intent to attack going forward. He also displays creditable proficiency in winning back possession at crucial areas of the park to attack on the counter, evidenced by his record of 1.4 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per game.
The club have shown interest in a number of center-midfielders this summer like Mahmoud Dahoud, Samuel Bastien and Danny Drinkwater to name a few, but with negotiations falling through with all the aforementioned names, it looks like Zielinski could get his desired move to Anfield after all.
Andrew Robertson – an alternative to Ben Chilwell?
The Reds eyed Ben Chilwell as their No.1 transfer target for the left-back role but failed with their £7 million bid for the Leicester City youngster who was valued at £10 million by the Premier League champions. Since Alberto Moreno’s disastrous Europa League final performance, Liverpool have been on the look out for a solid addition in that area of the park. With Chilwell seemingly out of the picture, Klopp looks to be targeting Andrew Robertson from newly promoted Hull City as a viable alternative.
The 22-year-old was a crucial part of Hull City’s Championship campaign last season at the end of which they managed to secure promotion to the Premier League. Robertson made the switch to Hull from Dundee United in 2014 for a fee of £3 million and has since turned out to be a crucial part of Steve Bruce’s plans for the side. The Scottish international featured in all 42 league games for the Tigers, helping them maintain 20 clean sheets in the process apart from a valuable tally of 4 goals and 5 assists going forward.
Having recorded significantly more first-team appearances than Chilwell who’s only played at the U-21 level so far for the Foxes, Robertson could well be a pricier catch for the Reds than the Leicester City youngster. The full-back roles have been a region that has required addressing for Liverpool over the past few years and with Nathaniel Clyne’s arrival last summer, sorting things out at right-back, Robertson could be viewed as a competitor if not replacement to Moreno’s spot on the corresponding left flank.
