Silly season is here and transfer rumours are flying around. With the arrival of Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho. and Antonio Conte at Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea respectively, lots of transfers are expected to take place in the Premier League. And also this is Jurgen Klopp’s first summer transfer window with Liverpool, so we can expect a massive rebuilding at Liverpool too. The papers are linking Liverpool with lot of players from Europe. And this week Liverpool has been linked with Barcelona right back, Aleix Vidal.
The 26-year-old moved to Barcelona from Sevilla during the last summer transfer window, but due to Barcelona’s transfer ban, he was not able to play until January. Even though he was available for team selection since January, his Barcelona career has not been good. Dani Alves continued as Barcelona’s right back and Aleix Vidal could only get limited playing time. It is said that Barcelona consider Vidal as the perfect replacement for Dani Alves, but the Spaniard will be looking to move to a club where he could get regular playing time.
Spanish newspaper, Mundo Deportivo, reported that Barcelona are not willing to sell Vidal for anything less than 45 Million. Let us keep the price tag and rumours away for a moment and analyse if Liverpool really need the services of Aleix Vidal.
First, let us look at Liverpool’s current Right Backs. Liverpool’s current Right Backs are Nathaniel Clyne, Jon Flanagan, Connor Randall and Joe Gomez (preferred position is centre-back but can also play as right back and left back).
Nathaniel Clyne has been Liverpool’s most consistent player this season. Clyne has not missed a game through injury this season and has been very fit. Clyne is one of the players who has played the most minutes for Liverpool this season. Nathaniel Clyne was bought by Liverpool from Southampton for a fee of 12 Million during the last summer transfer window and at the moment, it looks like a brilliant deal for Liverpool. The Englishman is just 25 and is entering the peak age of his career. Clyne has been brilliant defensively for Liverpool this season and made things easy for the Liverpool Centre Backs. Clyne also provided great attacking services for Liverpool. He managed to score two goals and assist two in all competitions during his first season at Liverpool. If we compare Clyne and Vidal, it is not possible to say that Vidal is better than Clyne. Overall, Clyne is better than Vidal. At his best Vidal can only equal Clyne and cannot better him.
Now, will Vidal be a great back up for Clyne?
Yes, but if his rumoured price tag of 45 Million is true there are much better options. If Liverpool can get Aleix Vidal for something between 10-15 Million then Aleix Vidal would be a great buy. But it looks like Barcelona is not willing to sell Vidal for that cheap. So, Aleix Vidal to Liverpool will just remain as a rumour.
With all these options in hand, Liverpool should reconsider their decision to make a bid for Aleix Vidal. Even if they decide to go for another right back, Aleix Vidal might not be the perfect person for that. Vidal will not come cheap and will not be willing to be a back up for Clyne. And at the moment, Vidal cannot make the Liverpool line-up ahead of Clyne. It is hard to find a reason for Liverpool to replace Clyne, so Liverpool actually don’t need a costly and experienced Right Back like Aleix Vidal. Liverpool may go for a back up for Clyne, but Aleix Vidal is certainly not the person for it.
