When you type Sandro Tonali into Google, the first thing you think is: ‘when did Andrea Pirlo’s son start playing football?’ It’s not Pirlo’s son, despite playing for the Italian maestro’s boyhood club and being from the same area. Tonali has even been compared to legendary Italian, not just because of his hair, but the way he plays football. The deep-lying playmaker has attracted a lot of attention across Europe with reports in the media that Barcelona were looking at him as well as Juventus.
Despite interest elsewhere, there’s no doubt that Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool have the pulling power to bring the continent’s hottest talents to Anfield. According to Italian journalist Alfredo Pedulla, Klopp likes what he sees from the youngster and the club have watched him for months. Should the Reds go ahead and attempt to sign him, though?
Sandro Tonali Interesting Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool
Getting into Their Bustling Midfield
Liverpool’s midfield is known for its work rate and tremendous ability to turn over the ball high up the pitch, enabling the destructive front three to work their magic. The defensive part of the game is where Tonali can still learn a lot, but he, despite playing in a poor Brescia side, boasts a better tackles-per-game ratio than Georginio Wijnaldum, with 1.2 tackles per game to the Dutchman’s 1.0 in Premier League action. Tonali has also had more interceptions per game (0.9) than Wijnaldum (0.5), and the same number as Jordan Henderson.
Adding Klopp’s coaching, which has improved so many players, and him adapting to the system, the Italian playmaker will be more than capable of meeting the defensive needs of a Liverpool midfielder.
Attacking-Wise
Going forward, Tonali’s impressive 2.0 key passes per game emphasises his ability on the ball. Brescia do not have the ball a lot of the time in games, so Tonali has had to be very economical when in possession. What does this mean, though? It shows his ability to find teammates in between the lines and orchestrate attacks. To give some context, Henderson (1.0) and Fabinho (0.7) fail to come close to the Italian’s exploits.
Considering how young Tonali is, he matches up to some of the Premier League’s, if not the world’s, best midfielders. Klopp doesn’t really play utilise deep-lying playmaker, but has experimented with Adam Lallana in a similar role. Tonali can play ahead of Fabinho or Henderson and dictate the play from there.
He might be suited to playing alongside a defensive-minded player. A 4-2-3-1 formation wouldn’t be a terrible option, and with the rumours of Timo Werner circling, a change of system that Klopp has used a lot might make sense.
With Henderson and Wijnaldum getting older and Lallana likely moving on, Liverpool need to start looking towards the future. While they are on top, it’s important they snap up Europe’s great talents. With Brescia likely to go down (if the season restarts) he’d be available for a cut-price fee, which makes sense for the club. Tonali might not be a player for now, but with Brescia ready to sell and the big clubs closing in, Liverpool should muscle in with their ‘World’s Best’ tag.
Main Photo
