Szoboszlai’s injury highlights the weaknesses in Liverpool’s squad. They need more depth, more players who can maintain the intensity of the press to match the way Slott wants his system to function.
Liverpool have become less heavy-handed under the Dutchman, but they were successful last season because they still maintained a high-intensity press.
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Looking around the midfield market in Europe, there are not many players with the ability to press and cover like Szoboszlai.
But there is one man who has consistently played with a similar intensity and in the process led his team to the top of their respective leagues.
Meet Mamadou Sangaré. He is a Malian midfielder from RC Lens who joined quickly from Vienna in the summer. Unsurprisingly, like Szoboszlai, he comes from the Red Bull Salzburg system.
Sangare can best be described as an absolute cheat code. Under his leadership, Lens currently sit above Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the Ligue 1 standings.
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He was instrumental in his rise to the top. Sangare leads the league in combined tackles and interceptions (66).
Sangare ranks in the top five among Ligue 1 players in terms of passes blocked (18).
He also has the most recoveries (107). In fact, only Elliot Anderson has more recoveries (132) than Sangare in Europe’s top five leagues.
Impressively, the Malian is also the player who has made the most tackles in the opponent’s final third (12) in Europe’s top five leagues.
This describes his efficiency in regaining the ball and making key defensive moves for his team.
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As we said, Sangare’s energy and pace in midfield make him a complete cheat code and he is exactly the type of player Liverpool need right now.
They need a midfielder who can win the second ball and provide pressing intensity in the middle.
We feel that if he continues with the same form, he will inevitably become Liverpool’s next midfield signing. This week-in, week-out performance simply cannot be ignored by Anfield’s statisticians.