Diogo Jota inspired Wolves win could cost Liverpool £18 million
A Diogo Jota inspired Liverpool win over Wolves could end up costing the club in the region of £20 million – and this is how.
The match against Nuno Espírito Santo’s side was decided by a Jota goal right on the cusp of half-time as the Reds collected three much-needed points.
Once again, several first-team stars looked out of sorts as Liverpool battled for an ugly win – even Klopp admitted that their performance wasn’t beautiful but it was effective, reported Sky Sports.
Liverpool battled
"The manager said: “If we want three dirty points, I’m fine with that. We had very good moments where we should have done better. Defensively the whole game was really good.”"
However, it’s not the poor form of Sadio Mane that looks likely to cost the Reds £18 million. Rather, we should be casting our eye further back down the pitch.
That’s because Ozan Kabak has started to show the type of form and performance that made him such a highly rated prospect at Stuttgart and Schalke.
Kabak is on loan but there’s an option to buy included in the deal that took him from Germany to Merseyside. Prior to his last two appearances, this win over Wolves and the 2-0 victory in the Champions League against RB Leipzig, the Turkish international looked like he was struggling.
More from Rush The Kop
- Set to return, Virgil Van Dijk facing heavy criticism back home
- Liverpool making late comebacks all the rage once again
- Wolves tilt gives Klopp opportunity to tinker with lineup following international duty
- Players to watch in the matchup with Wolves
- Predicting Liverpool’s Next Five Premier League Fixtures
Ozan Kabak could be in
That’s to be expected. Few players adjust seamlessly to Klopp’s style of play – just looked at how little Kostas Tsimikas has featured, while Andy Robertson and Fabinho all went through their own bad periods.
It seems like the stability of playing next to Nat Phillips, and with Fabinho as a defensive midfielder, has given Kabak confidence and allowed him to settle.
With that, Kabak has started to show glimpses of the player he could be for Liverpool – which will go a long way to persuading Klopp and sporting director Michael Edwards to trigger that option to buy.
There will be tougher fixtures in the future. The Reds take on Arsenal next, while the draw hasn’t been done for the Champions League quarter-final yet.
But if the Wolves win can be used as foundations, it’s looking likely that it just cost Liverpool the best part of £20 million.