Cheat code midfielder will be Liverpool's next signing | OneFootball

The injury to Szoboszlai highlights a weakness in Liverpool's squad. They need more depth and they need more players able to maintain a pressing intensity that aligns with the way Slot wants his system to work.

Liverpool have become less heavy metal under the Dutchman but they were successful last season because they still pressed with intensity.

Looking around the midfield market in Europe, there aren't many players capable of pressing and covering as much ground as Szoboszlai.

But there's someone who has been playing with a similar intensity and who has guided his team to the top of their respective league in the process.

Meet Mamadou Sangare. He's a Malian midfielder for RC Lens, who arrived from Rapid Vienna in the summer. Unsurprisingly, just like Szoboszlai he came through the Red Bull Salzburg system.

Sangare is best described as an absolute cheat-code. Under his guidance, Lens are currently above Paris Saint Germain at the top of the Ligue 1 table.

He's been instrumental in that charge to the top. Sangare has made the most tackles and interceptions combined (66) in the entire league.

For the most passes blocked, Sangare ranks in the top five among players in Ligue 1 (18).

He's also made the most recoveries (107). In fact, in Europe's top five leagues, only Elliot Anderson has made more recoveries (132) than Sangare.

Impressively, the Malian is also the player with the most tackles in the opposition's final third (12) in Europe's top five leagues.

This describes just how efficient he is at regaining the ball for his team and making crucial defensive actions.

Sangare's energy and speed in the middle of the park make him as we said a complete cheat-code and he's exactly the type of player Liverpool need right now.

They need a midfielder who can win those second balls and who can provide the pressing intensity in the middle.

In our opinion, if he continues in the same form, it's inevitable that he will become Liverpool's next midfield signing. The data gurus at Anfield simply cannot ignore this type of performance week in and week out.