Report: Liverpool eyeing ‘top class’ £35m powerhouse who could be ‘cornerstone’ of their midfield | OneFootball

Liverpool are reportedly eyeing a Premier League midfielder who’s understood to be attracting an incresing amount of interest.

The middle of the park was the one area of the squad where the Reds didn’t add new blood during a phenomenal summer transfer window, with the large-scale overhaul of 2023 transforming that position to a degree where it’s needed no alteration since.

However, amid recent reports of Anfield interest in Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton, another midfielder from the English top flight has seemingly found his way onto Richard Hughes’ radar.

Liverpool reportedly interested in Elliot Anderson

According to TBR Football, Liverpool are keeping tabs on Elliot Anderson, who’s also understood to be of interest to Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and his former club Newcastle.

Nottingham Forest are expected to resist any prospective offers for the 22-year-old, though, instead viewing him as a crucial component of new manager Ange Postecoglou’s line-up.

Transfer insider Graeme Bailey outlined: “Anderson has been top class for Forest, and they are aware of the interest is emerging, but I am told that Forest have no intention of entertaining any interest in him; and with Ange Postecoglou arriving, they want him to be a cornerstone to his team going forward.”

(Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)

What qualities could Anderson bring to Liverpool?

Since joining the Garibaldi from Newcastle for £35m last year (Sky Sports), Anderson’s star has ascended rapidly. He played a vital role in securing the Midlands club’s first European qualification in three decades and has also forced his way into Thomas Tuchel’s England side.

As per FBref, the 22-year-old ranks highly among other midfielders in Europe’s five main leagues over the past year for a number of underlying metrics, most notably successful take-ons (top 6%), assists per 90 minutes, aerial duels won (top 13%) and tackles (top 14%).

Those figures would suggest that he’s a well-rounded midfield operator who combines the physicality and work rate to win possession, with the technical quality to use the ball to beat opponents one-on-one and create chances in the final third.

Such qualities would appear to make him an ideal fit for Liverpool, although displacing one of Ryan Gravenberch or Alexis Mac Allister would be quite a difficult task, so Anderson may have to be content with a substitute role initially if he were to join the Reds.

Kopites might also argue with justification that a new centre-back should be the club’s priority in the January transfer window after the gutting news that Giovanni Leoni’s ACL injury will sideline him for a full year.

Nonetheless, the Anfield hierarchy have very rarely gotten it wrong when it comes to transfers in recent years, and it’s certainly no harm for the Premier League champions to have their hat in the ring for an excellent midfielder like Anderson.