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Manuel Lanzini would be Jurgen Klopp’s biggest transfer risk by far

ByDavid Gate|
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 04: Manuel Lanzini of West Ham United runs with the ball under pressure from Eric Dier of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United at Wembley Stadium on January 4, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 04: Manuel Lanzini of West Ham United runs with the ball under pressure from Eric Dier of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United at Wembley Stadium on January 4, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

If Liverpool are serious about signing Manuel Lanzini from West Ham then it would be the biggest risk of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool career to date.

Jurgen Klopp has earned a high level of trust in the transfer market since arriving at Anfield in 2015. Almost all of his signings have been a success, certainly relative to their cost. If rumors of Liverpool’s interest in West Ham midfielder Manuel Lanzini are to believed then this would be the biggest test of trust yet.

Lanzini is the player the Hammers have chosen to run their attack in the wake of Dimitri Payet’s move to Marseille a year ago. The Argentinian playmaker has been a decent Premier League attacker and he clearly has more class than the rest of the West Ham squad.

However there is nothing to make you think he will be a success at Liverpool; let alone an adequate replacement for Philippe Coutinho. He has one goal and five assists in 16  appearances this season. Coutinho has 12 goals and 8 assists. It is incomparable.

Klopp has been proved right before where fans have been skeptical. The transfer of Gini Wijnaldum was widely greeted with suspicion by Liverpool fans who had only seen his wildly inconsistent performances for Newcastle. That one has turned out alright.

Again this summer eyebrows were raised over the last-minute transfer of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Yet with every passing week we are seeing how Klopp got that one totally right. There were even questions over the price Liverpool shelled out for Sadio Mane at the time. Don’t hear anyone complaining about that one now.

Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita are all top-tier players. Solid squad members Joel Matip, Ragnar Klavan and Andrew Robertson were all bargains. Add to that the young prospects of Dominic Solanke and Marko Grujic and you get a picture of a manager who knows exactly what he is doing.

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Much trust has been built between the manager and the fans. However, Klopp will need every last bit of that trust if he plans to replace Coutinho with Lanzini.