Bocsak: The £26m Bundesliga Star That Could Complete Slot’s Liverpool Midfield | OneFootball

Liverpool’s Missing Midfield Piece

Even though Liverpool brought in four midfielders last summer it still feels like there is a vacancy in the midfield department. Liverpool still haven’t quite replaced Fabinho’s role in the team, which is arguably, one of the most important roles in the midfield.

Wataru Endo has done well to plug the gaps this season. But he was always going to be a short-term solution. Liverpool wanted a long-term solution, and that’s why they targeted Moises Caicedo, before settling for Endo.

This summer, it would not be a surprise to see Liverpool enter the holding midfield market again, and if they do, there is one candidate in Anton Stach who ticks a lot of the boxes for what Michael Edwards and his recruitment team will be looking for.

What Edwards and the recruitment team will look for

There is a certain criteria that Liverpool will look for when pursuing a holding midfielder.

First and foremost the ideal target needs to be able to cover a lot of ground.

Liverpool’s number eights often push into really advanced territories, and sometimes the holding midfielder has to provide cover sufficiently and quickly behind them. This won’t change too much under Slot.

Photo: IMAGO

While sometimes he does play with a double pivot. More recently, particularly this season, he’s often been using two advanced number eights in his Feyenoord team, and only having one defensive minded midfielder.

That player has been Mats Wieffer, who actually records very similar numbers to Fabinho in his prime, and I’ve actually profiled him in a previous piece for that reason.

So that means that under Slot, Edwards and co. will have to find a player similar to Fabinho in order to make the system work. It would be easy to suggest that midfielder should be Wieffer. But for me a much better solution would be the aforementioned Stach.

Why Anton Stach fit the criteria for Liverpool defensively

The ideal holding midfielder needs to be really good at reading the play and anticipating danger.

Fabinho always thrived at making a high volume of interceptions during his time at Liverpool. At his prime during the 2018/19 season and the 2019/20 season, he averaged just over seven possession adjusted-interceptions per 90 minutes.

Meanwhile, Endo is currently averaging 8.79 for Liverpool this season. Aside from those two key pieces of defensive contribution, the ideal candidate should also be proficient in winning duels – averaging at least a 60% success rate.

And they should be effective in possession, capable of dropping deep, receiving the ball under pressure and instigating quick transitions and attacks.

Stach ticks all the boxes above.

Out of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues he ranks third for possession adjusted interceptions with 9.07 per 90 according to Wyscout. He ranks number one in the Bundesliga. He also wins 67% of his 6.55 defensive duels per 90 for Hoffenheim this season.

And as a special bonus, with a height of 1.94 metres, he is also really strong when it comes to aerial duels. Stach wins 66% of his 3.52 aerial duels per 90. This is the highest success rate out of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues who average at least 3.5 aerial duels.

As you can see from his heatmap per Wyscout, he also covers a lot of ground:

And in addition to that he ranks in the 97th percentile as per FBref for ball recoveries (8.03 per 90).

Stach’s Ability on the Ball

As stated above a key criteria for a holding midfielder at Liverpool is their ability to be effective in possession. A holding midfielder plays a key role in Liverpool’s build-ups, and even more so in Slot’s system.

Slot likes more control in his midfield. He is a Pep Guardiola disciple when it comes to how he wants his teams to build-up, preferring quick and short passes, and triangle play, rather than direct and long switches.

Stach’s profile fits into this possession based football. His ability on the ball is quite underrated. Hoffenheim aren’t really a dominant side in possession in the Bundesliga this season. They rank 7th overall, with an average possession of 49%.

Yet as per FBref, Stach ranks in the 80th percentile for passes into the final third (4.22 per 90) and in the 82nd percentile for progressive passes (5.29 per 90).

These are really good numbers for a holding midfielder playing in a side that average less than 50% possession. Playing for a more dominant possession team, Stach could definitely take them closer to the 90th percentile.

He’s always playing with his head up and looking to play forward passes.

Over 30% of his passes are forward passes, which is a really high volume for a midfielder. At Liverpool for example Alexis Mac Allister averages the most forward passes but only 19% of his passes are forward.

Potential Summer Bargain

Hoffenheim signed Stach for just €11m last summer, which is roughly £9.3m. Right now he’s valued £13m by Transfermarkt. Given he is on a long-term contract until 2027, Hoffenheim would probably ask for a lot more than that – probably at least double.

But even at around £26m Stach could be a bargain option for the Reds. He is only 25-years-old with the potential to improve and take his game even further. In Slot he will be working under a manager who has been able to bring the best out of his midfielders at both Feyenoord and AZ Alkmaar.

Teun Koopmeiners and Mats Wieffer both became key players under the Dutchman. Stach at Liverpool has the potential to follow in their footsteps.