Summary Liverpool could sign a £20m midfielder after missing out on Caicedo and Lavia. The player is a complete 'tackling machine' and has Premier League experience. They nearly signed for Chelsea this summer after undergoing a medical.
Liverpool need to move quickly to complete their summer spending after missing out on two top targets, with Jurgen Klopp's side currently without a holding midfielder.
Who do Liverpool want to sign?
According to 90min, Liverpool are considering raiding the Championship to solve their midfield woes.
The player in question is Leeds United and USMNT player Tyler Adams, who has become the focus of their attention after losing out to Chelsea for both Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia.
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Bournemouth are further along than the Reds at this stage and have triggered the player's clause, according to Fabrizio Romano, and Klopp and co will need to think fast if they do want to push ahead with a deal for the 24-year-old.
Adams is widely believed to possess a £20m release clause contract with the Whites due to the Elland Road team's relegation from the Premier League last season, highlighting the astuteness of a deal for a player who impressed despite the club's issues.
Coincidentally, he nearly signed for Chelsea, even undergoing a medical before the Blues turned their attention towards Lavia.
How good is Tyler Adams?
It's not been a good week for the Anfield side on the transfer front; technical director Jorg Schmadtke walked through the corridors of chaos and emerged with a burn, and now Liverpool's Premier League campaign has commenced and the squad very much needs further work.
Caicedo and Lavia are both tremendous talents and – especially the former – would likely have catalysed the Merseyside outfit, who failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in seven seasons last term, with the midfield's inability to effectively protect the defence cited as the crux of the decline – but then there is little point rueing the past at this stage.
Adams joined Leeds in a £20m deal from RB Leipzig one year ago, and he would record an average Sofascore rating of 6.98 despite the side's dismal performances, averaging one key pass per game, completing 82% of his passes and making 3.7 tackles per match.
Dubbed an "absolute beast" by one analyst, Adams' tackling is the standout and would offer Liverpool something they were missing last season, with Fabinho making just 1.8 tackles on average in the English top-flight and Jordan Henderson 0.9.
In fact, the 36-cap American ranks among the top 2% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for tackles and the top 3% for blocks per 90, as per FBref, to underscore just how tenacious he is in the middle, having also been described as a "tackling machine" by Kevin Campbell.
There are shades of Manuel Ugarte in there, significant similarities that suggest that Adams' profile could be perfect for Klopp's system, given that Ugarte was attracting attention from the Reds before Paris Saint-Germain completed a transfer after meeting the Uruguayan's €60m (£52m) release clause earlier this summer.
Also regarded as a 'ball-winning machine' by Dave Kendrick, Ugarte ranks among the top 1% of midfielders across Men's Next Eight divisions – outside the top European five as he played for Sporting Lisbon last season – for tackles, the top 3% for interceptions, the top 12% for blocks and the top 8% for successful take-ons per 90.
It's just what Liverpool need, there is plenty of attacking panache in the squad, but the balance is all wrong right now, and with an industrious force in the centre the Reds' lofty ambitions might just be realised.
