With a left back high on Liverpool FC's agenda this summer, thoughts turn to potential acquisitions. The ECHO exclusively revealed the Reds' interest in Sevilla's Alberto Moreno, one of Spain's rising stars, with a fee of over £15m required to bring him to Anfield. But if Liverpool were to not succeed in bringing Moreno to Anfield, thoughts would turn to either Ryan Bertrand of Chelsea or Benfica's Guilherme Siqueira. The Reds have also been linked with a whole host of other left-backs such as Swiss star Ricardo Rodriquez. We have crunched the numbers to see which left-back comes out on top, Moreno, Bertrand, Rodriguez or the man who made the left-back spot his own (and may take some shifting) Jon Flanagan. please log in to view this image Appearances Wolfsburg's Rodriguez has made the most appearances of any of the four, with 34 games for the German side this term. Moreno, in his breakthrough season at Sevilla, has made 28 appearances in La Liga this season. Bertrand, however, found opportunities hard to come by at Chelsea and headed on-loan to Aston Villa in January. In total the 24-year-old made just 16 league appearances this campaign. That's less than Flanagan, who broke into the Liverpool side in November's Merseyside derby and made 23 appearances for the Reds last year - becoming a virtual ever-present in the process. Goals Liverpool would certainly benefit from goalscoring full-backs and the Reds haven't had a left-back that found the net regulary since John Arne-Riise scored six times in Rafa Benitez's first season at Liverpool - albeit Riise would sometimes play on the left-side of midfield, with Djimi Traore tucked behind. Moreno can boast three league goals and the Spaniard's strikes against Barcelona, Valladolid and Athletic Bilbao prove that the 21-year-old is not afraid to let fly with his left foot from the edge of the box in Riise-esque fashion. Rodriguez, meanwhile, scored five times for Wolfsburg and the 21-year-old is entrusted with free-kick and penalty duties. His most significant impact came in a 2-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund in November with a sweetly struck free-kick. Nobody will forget Flanagan's single goal this season. A brilliant top corner curler against Tottenham demonstrated the youngster's abilities but he is by no means a regular scorer. Bertrand, meanwhile, has never scored for Chelsea in the Premier League and only boasts one league goal to his name - for Reading in 2009/10. [video=youtube;KEC_xtCI_Oc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEC_xtCI_Oc[/video] Assists In terms of assists, there is no competition between the four. Ricardo Rodriguez's brilliant return of nine assists demonstrates just how good the former FC Zurich man's delivery is. Indeed, just one look at a highlight video will show you how sweet his left foot can be and, with set-piece responsibilities, Rodriguez has proven to be a great help to his team-mates at Wolfsburg. Surprisingly for a modern attack-minded full back, Moreno cannot boast a single league assist this term. Perhaps in a Sevilla team that has scored just 66 goals - that's 35 less than Liverpool managed this term - the blame doesn't solely lie with Moreno. Nevertheless it is a poor return for the Spaniard. Jon Flanagan didn't fare much better. One assist doesn't particulary sound great for the 21-year-old but, compare that to Southampton's £30m-rated Luke Shaw and Leighton Baines who only managed one and three assists respectively. Bertrand, meanwhile, is another without any assists but, considering he only played 16 times, it is a little unfair to single out the Chelsea man. Key Passes It looks as though it is becoming a theme but once again Rodriguez leads the way with key passes this term. And he holds some lead. A whopping 77 key passes are attributed to the Wolfsburg man, showing that there is indeed substance to his many forays into the opponent's half. Compare that with his nearest challenger, Moreno, who has managed just 17 key passes - not particularly bad for a full-back but not in Rodriguez's league in terms of statistics. Flanagan sits third with 13 key passes and Bertrand has just four. [video=youtube;YIHe9by9tFA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIHe9by9tFA[/video] Dribbles Another outstanding category for Rodriguez who has embarked on 87 dribbles this term. Once again it is an impressive feat and shows what an attacking outlet he has been for the Bundesliga side. Moreno's 33 dribbles are nothing to be sneered at. The Spaniard has proven adept at getting forward into the opponent's half. Jon Flanagan, meanwhile, is a little more defensive, having completed 15 successful dribbles and Bertrand has seven in just 16 appearances. Tackling Once again, no prizes for guessing who sits top. Rodriguez has made 103 successful tackles this season. Not bad, not bad at all. However, compare that with Flanagan's 79 tackles - in 11 games fewer no less - and it shows just what a rock the youngster has been for Rodgers' side this term. Moreno has made 52 successful tackles, although it could be said that La Liga in general sees fewer tackles than it's English or German counterparts. Bertrand once again sits bottom with 29 successful tackles. Interceptions Finally a change at the top. When it comes to interceptions, top Reds-target Moreno is your man. The Spaniard leads the way with 71, perhaps demonstrating the less-physical nature of La Liga and showing that Moreno prefers brains, rather than brawn, when it comes to winning the ball. Still, Rodriguez sits second with an impressive 62 interceptions. Flanagan has just 40 whilst Bertrand has just 15 in 16 appearances. Dispossessed Perhaps this is the most revealing, and damning, of all the statistics. Rodriguez once again sits top of the rankings - but it's a place he'd rather not be. The Swiss international has been dispossessed 37 times this term and, whilst it could be argued that that could be due to his more-frequent forays into oppositon territory the statistic just doesn't sit well compared with Flanagan's 24 and Moreno's hugely impressive 16. Bertrand, meanwhile, has been dispossessed just 12 times, but when you consider that he has played 12 games less than Moreno, it makes the Spaniard's statistic all the more impressive. Thus, whilst Rodriguez may be the most adventurous of the four, he may also end up being the least reliable - not something a manager wants at the very highest level. Long Balls A statistic that could be attributed to the team's tactics as much as the individual but, even so, it does show each player's tendency to hit it long. Rodriguez has hit 182 long balls this season. Meanwhile, Flanagan, Moreno and Bertrand have made just 29, 25 and 20 long passes respectively - perhaps another clue as to why Moreno and Bertrand are top targets for Rodgers. Moreno's suitability to play Rodgers' style of football is clearly evident whilst Rodriguez, with a huge number of long passes, may not be as suited to Liverpool's possession-based style. Aerial Duels won Impressive stuff from the 5 ft 11 in Rodriguez, as he has won 105 aerial duels. That's more than triple his nearest rival Flanagan, who has 29. With Liverpool's defence struggling with set pieces and teams with a more physical approach, a aerially dominant player could be an asset. Indeed at just 5 ft 7 in, Moreno doesn't win anywhere near as many headers, with just 25 duels won - although once again this statistic could be distorted by La Liga's less physical nature and style of play. Bertrand, meanwhile sits bottom of the pile again with just 20. Verdict Wolfsburg's Rodriguez has some very impressive statistics right across the board, especially his goals, assists and aerial dominance. Who could argue that such a player could be an asset to a Liverpool defence that shipped 50 Premier League goals this term? However, the fact that Rodriguez has been dispossessed 37 times suggests that he can, at times, be a liability. Moreno may be a little more refined and the fact that he has been dispossessed much less, has made more interceptions and is used to much more of a Liverpool-like style of play may work in his favour. The youngster will also be Jordi Alba's back up for the Spanish national side this summer - no mean feat. Admittedly, it is hard to judge Bertrand, with just 16 appearances made. But the Englishman did have an impressive season the previous year and Chelsea may well be keen to sell. Whoever Rodgers plumps for, only one thing is certain. A certain "Red Cafu" may take some shifting next season. http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/spor...-bill-liverpool-7134089#.U3d1HfR-O5I.facebook
Stats stats stats. Need to know so much more about it before you can take them into consideration. In terms of being dispossessed, where did it happen? In your own 3rd? Own half? Opposition 3rd? Ariel duels, where they won against small wingers? Big centre forwards? Looks from it that Rodriguez is obviously the better going forward but also seems to have the height and better ability in the air which is what we've missed. German league is obviously more similar to La Liga as well so getting used to the new league should be a big easier
Good thread, I'd like us to but Bertrand, he'll be at a good price (approx £5 Million) and is good going forward and a good defender.
Nail on head there, Bertrand will give Enricky something to play for as he's a good player and will get better. If I was to predict the future we'd start the season with Enricky and finish it with a hungry Bertrand who wants to play and is there to win his place in the team. Flanno will replace Johnson.
Hope this isn't true... Having one English FB that's passed it and collecting their pension is bad enough, lets not be adding another that's also a trouble maker AND wants more money than the one already have!!!
Why sign a defender who isn't any better than what we have already? Buy someone that can play and be 1st team CL quality then have Enrique as back up if needed.
If I had to pick out of those above my first two would be 1. Moreno 2. Rodriguez To be honest I'd be just as happy with either.
well.... if we get a good un for a reasonabel price so much the better. our current scenario is not good. i would like to see us get the left sort and frankly let the kids sort johnson out. wisdom and flanagan should push his lazyness out
Enricky is good enough imo but like I said I think Bertrand will be better by the end of next season.
Many Enrique will be off and we will sign two left backs. Cole and .............. Enrique's injury problems have been poor since Rodgers first arrived.
Only one winner for me is Ricardo Rodriguez - Bertrand is gash and the fact that Villa aren't pushing to keep him says it all.
Bertrand looks painfully average to me, but Rodgers seems to think there's enough potential in there to be worth buying. Fair does if he does and he's right a la Sturridge, but I'd rather us go in for Rodriguez... Please leave Cole alone
If we spent our whole budget on Lallana, Can, Lovren, Vorm and Konoplyanka would you accept Cole? That would be £60m worth. I know Gerrez will say no.
Yeah, of course. Cole's still a good player, but we'll get two seasons out of him and he's already on the downward slope. He'll be on mega wages and, like the last Cole we bought, want a substantial signing on fee. I would just rather we went and bought the next good LB, rather than the one who's almost finished.
But I think the fact that we haven't been linked with Ricardo Rodriguez at all in one of the more respected papers such as the Liverpool Echo suggests that we aren't looking at him, and that its just another Turan, Eriksen, Mata etc type player that the fans want, not the club.
I believe we have scouted him but it's a shame we''re not pursuing this further. He was the best left back in Europe last season (maybe just after Alaba) and is far more refined than Moreno. He's relatively unknown at the moment but it won't be long until he makes it big.
First you get Rodriguez, then he has a litle ear verbal with Shaquiri and Xhaka in the swiss camp and then we get all three! Tactical genius by the LFC hierarchy.
I don't want cole but I'd accept it on those terms You just name about £500k pw (£26m per annum) in wages too though
