Tackles like Gomez, plays like van Dijk: The free agent Liverpool must sign

Liverpool must sign Malang Sarr.

The former Nice central defender tackles like Joe Gomez and plays football like Virgil van Dijk, and he’s available for free.

At only 21-years-old, this would be an extremely attractive proposition to sporting director Michael Edwards, owners Fenway Sports Group and manager Jurgen Klopp.

With over 100 Ligue 1 appearances for Nice, Malang Sarr can play as a left-back and a centre-back and already has European experience. To top it off, he’s capped by the France U21 side.

Football Whispers reported that his expired contract contained a €50 million release clause, which shows how highly Nice thought of the player – and they also claimed that Liverpool held an interest in the player four years ago.

This versatility would be really attractive, although not as important now given the arrival of Kostas Tsimikas.

Liverpool are on the hunt for another central defender after Dejan Lovren left to join Zenit St. Petersberg, and the Frenchmen could be the perfect foil.

Sarr plays as a left-sided central defender, the place van Dijk normally takes up, and keeps the ball incredibly well. Van Dijk’s ball retention, according to Smarter Scout, is 80. Sarr’s is 79, while Gomez comes in at 76.

Sarr is an excellent ball player, and passes towards goal far more than either of Klopp’s two regular defenders – although his recovery is about half as prevalent as the Reds’ lads.

Liverpool defenders aren’t just meant to stop attackers under our manager, they’re supposed to start them as well. Sarr’s link-up play is excellent, and that would make him a good fit for Klopp. At 77/100, it’s not as good as van Dijk or Gomez, who both score above 85, but it’s still promising.

There are serious question marks over the French defender, however. His aerial ability seems to be poor, as are his ground duels out of position. That would clearly need some work, but as a free transfer there is far more to gain than lose from the deal.