Liverpool transfer news: £25m man could move to Anfield but should Reds sign him?
It was the transfer that Liverpool fans wanted in 2013, but ultimately didn’t come to fruition, however that hasn’t stopped Henrikh Mkhitaryan teasing Kopites with his latest suggestion that he could still pull on a red shirt some day.
Liverpool spent much of last summer strongly linked with the Armenian international, with some reports even claiming that a deal was close, only for Borussia Dortmund to swoop in with a €27.5m fee to pinch him seemingly from under Brendan Rodgers’ nose.
It was initially viewed as a reflection of Liverpool’s declining place in the European football pecking order, but fast forward nine months and it looks like it could have been a blessing in disguise. However, should the opportunity to land him arise again, should Liverpool sign Henrikh Mkhitaryan?
Teething problems
Since securing a club-record move to Dortmund last summer, Mkhitaryan’s progress at the Westfalenstadion hasn’t been perhaps as rapid as some would have expected.
The 25-year-old is yet to show the level of performance seen during his final season at Shakhtar Donetsk, while his goal tally - six league goals in 21 appearance - falls way behind that of the 2012/13 season.
Fortunately, there have not been the pressures to perform in Germany that he would have probably faced had he ended up in England, but that is little excuse for his lack of real impact so far this year.
A great deal of that seems to be down to developing an understanding with his team-mates, a process that naturally takes time, but that does not defend his ability to absent at times this season - most notably during the recent 3-0 defeat to Hamburg and the loss against Bayern Munich at the end of November.
These have largely been unavoidable problems, but remain ones which perhaps would have been even more prevalent had he been at the heart of Liverpool’s midfield.
Compared to Coutinho and Suarez
The failure to land Mkhitaryan has allowed the continued development of Philippe Coutinho, who looks like being the key to Liverpool’s attack for years to come.
Alongside the young Brazilian has been the phenomenal Luis Suarez, prompting the question as to whether Suarez would have been given the same level of freedom to perform, had he had a player of Mkhitaryan’s ilk in the starting XI.
Given the role the Armenian has taken on at Dortmund and the space he occupies in attack, it’s fair to suggest he would have had to taken a backseat to Suarez.
Liverpool’s current attack line is one of the most exciting in English football, with Suarez, Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling lighting up the Premier League and prompting a title challenge from the Redmen.
Whether Mkhitaryan would have helped that is hard to predict, but the collective 27 league goals and 14 assists from Suarez and Coutinho largely speaks for itself.
Money better spent elsewhere
Should Liverpool have the opportunity to land Henrikh Mkhitaryan, it would likely cost them a pretty penny. Given Dortmund forked out close to £25m for him last summer suggests that he would be worth a similar figure this time around. Liverpool rarely have the opportunity to spend that level of money on a single player, and while the club are in a healthy financial situation, their comparative strength in attacking areas suggests that the money would be better spent elsewhere.
Should Brendan Rodgers be presented that with level of money to spend this summer, then he would be better advised in building on his efforts last year and further strengthening his defence.
The arrivals of Kolo Toure, Mamadou Sakho and Aly Cissokho have helped do that to a degree, but with the latter of the trio only on loan and Toure very much nearing the twilight of his career, defensive reinforcements are a must, rather than moving for Mkhitaryan.
Liverpool fans, would you welcome a new move for Henrikh Mkhitaryan? Comment below…