If at all Jurgen Klopp is going to dip into the transfer market, a centre back is the most certain arrival we can expect at Liverpool. Few names have been mentioned by the media and we do not know how much truth does these rumours have. Andre Ranocchia of Inter Milan is one such player who has been heavily linked with Liverpool. Metro, who have cited Tuttomercatoweb as their source has reported that Andrea Ranocchia has agreed to join Liverpool in the January transfer window.

Basic Player Profile

Andrea Ranocchia was born on February 16th, 1988 and now he is 27 years old. The Italian is 196cm (6 foot 5 inches) tall and weighs 81kg (according to whoscored.com). He is a right sided centre back, but could also play as a left centre back. His preferred foot is right. He wears the number 23 for Inter Milan.

History

He started his career with Arezzo and played for their Primavera team in 2005-06. Then in 2008, he moved to Genoa and in the same year he went on loan to Bari. He won the Serie B championship with Bari that season and got promoted to the Serie A.

Ranocchia was named as Inter’s captain ahead of the 2014-15 season and was later replaced by Mauro Icardi by the end of the same season. Ranocchia has scored 7 goals from 129 appearances for Inter. He made his international debut for Italy in 2010 and has made about 20 appearances. He was named in the Serie A team of the year in 2011 and also won the Armando Picchi award in the same year.

Playing Style

Ranocchia is a strong and physcial centre back known for his aerial abilities. Italian legend, Marco Materazzi, described Ranocchia as his heir due to his aerial abilities. He is also a leader at the back and Javier Zanetti praised him for his leadership. The Italian is a reliable defender who has the ability to read the game well. Ranocchia is also known for his well timed tackles and is always there to block shots from the opponents. His main weakness is his lack of pace. The Italian is slow and most of the times he won’t be able to catch up with the fast players. And like many other defenders he is not a very good passser of the ball.

What Can Ranocchia Bring To Liverpool?

If the rumours are to be believed, then Inter has already accepted a £6.5m bid for the Italian. Many of the fans are not so happy about the news and they say that he is not of first team quality. Of course, Ranocchia is not a first team player, but we can expect contributions from him and his experience. Many fans have already written him off, because he had a very poor season last year (2014-15). But, it may be too early to write him off.

Ranocchia was one of Inter’s best defenders in the previous season (2013-14). And his performances in that season earned him the captain’s band, though he was replaced later on by the end of the season. Liverpool’s current centre back, Dejan Lovren, had a very poor season with Lyon in the Ligue 1 before he joined Southampton. The Croatian then turned things around by becoming Southampton’s key player. Then in his first season at Liverpool he again had a poor season. Now again Lovren turned things around and he has turned his doubters to believers. So, we cannot completely write off Ranocchia. He may not be as good as Lovren or Sakho, but he can give cover to these players.

He is a trust worthy player when called upon. Kolo Toure or Martin Skrtel or even both of them could leave in the summer transfer window, in that case Ranocchia could fill the void. He can become a good sqaud player and can be vital in Liverpool’s cup games. And that would take some pressure off Liverpool’s main centre backs. As stated before he is a great aerial threat. Liverpool defenders are not so dominant when it comes to set pieces and the Reds have conceded quiet some goals from set pieces and Ranocchia could be the answer for this. He is very tall and dominant in the air. He can also be handy for Liverpool’s set pieces.

Conclusion

Andrea Ranocchia is no first team player and we cannot expect him to be especially when his transfer value is only 6.5 million, but we never know. Ranocchia will bring experience and leadership to Liverpool’s defence. If Liverpool is to sign the Italian that means Klopp trusts him and the Liverpool fans trust Klopp. Ranocchia could be a huge bargain buy.