Forget Adam Wharton, Liverpool should sign MUCH better midfielder instead | OneFootball

Liverpool do need more of a progressive passer. But is that worth spending so much money on when a Liverpool midfielder also needs to be physically strong and a runner in midfield, someone who can win those second balls that Arne Slot's men have struggled to win all season.

Wharton is not that type of player. He reads the game well, but he's not strong in his duels and he isn't necessarily the most defensively disciplined player.

This is why Mamadou Sangare might just be a much better fit for Liverpool, and why he should be the one the Reds pursue.

He's not a name that's out there on the mainstream at the moment, but the RC Lens midfielder has everything to be a superstar and his style of play is perfectly suited to the way Liverpool want to play.

The 23-year-old is high energy and plays with a lot of intensity. He is a proper box-to-box midfielder with the stamina to run for days and the ability to carry the ball and spray brilliant cross-field passes.

All while being an excellent disruptor defensively.

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.

© IMAGO - Mamadou Sangare Liverpool

Lens signed him for just €8m in the summer transfer window. They will make a huge profit on him, there is no doubt about that. Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester United are already among the clubs taking a look at him.

Liverpool should be there as well. In fact he should be the no.1 midfield target for the Reds because Sangare is a much better fit for the way the club wants to play and has been playing ever since Jurgen Klopp started Heavy Metal football and Slot continued it with his own fine tuned version.

At 23-years-old, Sangare has the potential to be an elite superstar midfielder in Europe's top five leagues.

Liverpool have always had success with Malian stars. Both Djimi Traore and Mohamed Sissoko have a cult figure status at Anfield. The former played a legendary game in Istanbul against AC Milan to become a Champions League winner. In the process, Traore became the first Milan international to win the trophy.

That's the kind of legacy Sangare could continue at Anfield.