Konrad Laimer – A Perfect Fit for Liverpool

After two months of slumber, the footballing world stirred for the first time in mid-May with the return of the Bundesliga, with the eyes of the world firmly glued to it. The Bundesliga arrived as a fully-televised footballing feast, after we were all unexpectedly starved of the beautiful game due to the coronavirus which has brought many facets of our daily lives to a grinding halt. 

Despite the much-changed conditions in which football is now played; the empty stadiums, the echoing shouts of the managers and the lack of overzealous celebrations; we’ve still been able to enjoy much of the brilliance of the Bundesliga over the last month and a half. The dominance of Bayern Munich, the youth and dynamism of Favre’s Dortmund, Kai Havertz’s emergence as a future gem, and RB Leipzig’s modern and unique style of football are a few of many talking points that have arisen over the course of this season. Although they’re all significant and interesting in their own right, it’s the latter which perhaps is the most fascinating. 

Julian Nagelsmann’s RB Leipzig side have been a breath of fresh air in European football this season, with a young side who’s exceptional tactical versatility and highly attractive style of football has caught the eyes of many around the world. While Leipzig have been in-and-around the top 4 of the Bundesliga for a few seasons, the arrival of Nagelsmann looks to be the catalyst that could really propel them towards being the team who can break Bayern’s supremacy at the top of the Bundesliga. 

Their high energy, entertaining brand of football has seen them secure a 3rd place finish as well as a Champions League quarter-final spot in what has been an excellent 19/20 campaign. While it’s usually high-flying Timo Werner, creative maestro Christopher Nkunku, or one of their excellent trio of French defenders who usually make the headlines, perhaps a man who should be considered in the same bracket, is their midfield machine, Konrad Laimer. 

How Laimer is Utilised at RB Leipzig

RB Leipzig mainly use three different systems, their signature 4-2-2-2 with a box midfield, and occasionally a 3-1-4–2 or a 4-4-2 with a midfield diamond. In the first two, Laimer’s role is very much as a ball winner, who shields the back line while also looking to create by playing direct, vertical passes into the strikers and attacking midfielders. In the midfield diamond, he is used as a ‘shuttler’, playing on the right side of the diamond. His role is to win the ball back in slightly wider areas, while also pressing from a more advanced position. It also gives him the opportunity to operate in the half-space, where he can have more of a creative, box-to-box influence. 

Leipzig’s Most Important Player Out of Possession

Konrad Laimer’s standout ability by some distance is his ball-winning capability, and this is vital to the high-press football that Leipzig play. He often breaks out of the two in midfield in order to press the ball high up the pitch and always leads Leipzig’s counterpress after their attacks have broken down. His most notable trait is his relentless pressing and harrying of the opposition midfielders, which often unsettles the other team and helps Leipzig win the ball back as quickly as possible. His excellent energy and stamina allow him to persistently do this and as a result he’s become an increasingly difficult player to play against, and one of the best pressing midfielders in world football.

To perfectly illustrate his fantastic defensive ability, Laimer has won the most tackles (59) and completed the most successful pressures (275) in the Bundesliga this season. In addition, he has won the most tackles in the midfield third (52) and attacking third (16) this season, indicating how willing and able Laimer is at winning the ball back high up the pitch. There aren’t many midfielders in European football who can boast such impressive defensive statistics and this side of his game means that Laimer is a massive player for Leipzig, and an irreplaceable element of Nagelsmann’s side. 

The graph above indicates just how good Laimer is at pressing and winning the ball, with the most tackles won out of all centre midfielders in the Champions League this season, as well as the second greatest amount of successful pressures.

Laimer’s Role in Possession

Despite being a holding midfielder in the 4-2-2-2, the Austrian usually takes up a relatively advanced position due to the high defensive line of RB Leipzig. This means that Laimer is occasionally able to influence attacks and is often seen breaking into the area when the ball goes wide, as Leipzig look to overload the penalty area.

Leipzig’s build up play is largely focused on playing vertical passes in order to move the ball from back to front as quickly as possible. Nagelsmann’s players are drilled into positioning themselves correctly, to create vertical passing lanes so that the ball can be progressed quickly, bypassing the opposition’s midfield and resulting in opportunities for the frontline to link up and create chances. 

As a result, when playing on the left of a midfield pivot in the 4-2-2-2 formation, Laimer’s job is to collect the ball in midfield and move it to his attackers as quickly as possible by picking out a line breaking pass. This means that Laimer is an important player for Leipzig in the attacking phase as well as defensively, because most of Leipzig’s attacking moves begin with one of the centre-backs or defensive midfielders. 

In addition, the fact that he presses so high up the pitch and often wins the ball back in advanced areas, means that he sometimes leads Leipzig’s counter attacks. His underrated ball carrying ability alongside his surprisingly good eye for a pass means that after he’s won the ball back, he drives forward before laying a pass off to one of his attackers. Laimer was also recorded as the 5th fastest player in the Bundesliga in 2019, and his pace means that he can be very powerful for Leipzig on the counter attack. 

Where He’d Fit in at Liverpool

Klopp’s title-winning Liverpool side currently operate with a high-energy 4-3-3 system in which the focus is to press intensely and win the ball back high up the pitch when out of possession, much like Leipzig do under Nagelsmann. Their industrious midfield three usually consists of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum, which despite being one of the weaker areas of Liverpool’s squad in terms of personnel, has done a decent enough job in providing a platform for the front three to wreak havoc for Liverpool. 

Fabinho acts as the holding midfielder who sits deep and protects the back line, offering cover when the fullbacks venture forward. Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum sit on the sides of the three in midfield, with Henderson on the right, and Wijnaldum on the left. Both players look to press as much as possible once Liverpool have lost the ball in the final third, in order to keep the opposition penned in. Henderson provides plenty of energy, athleticism and leadership to his team, while also improving the creative side of his game over the last couple of seasons. Wijnaldum is naturally an attacking midfielder but has adapted his game in order to suit Liverpool’s system. He’s a tidy player who doesn’t usually look to create from deep like Henderson, but his natural attacking instincts mean that he occasionally gets chances as a result of his late runs into the area when Liverpool are going forward. 

Despite the success of the two ‘number 8s’ in Liverpool’s team, it is definitely an area in which Jurgen Klopp will be looking to improve in the next window or two. Henderson provides invaluable leadership and is even being touted as a potential Player of the Season winner as a result of his excellent performances this season, so if Klopp wanted to strengthen his starting midfield combination, it is likely that Wijnaldum would be the casualty. That’s where Konrad Laimer comes into it; he’d be a perfect fit for this Liverpool side, and would be a player who can further improve what is already a superb team.

Why Laimer Would Suit Liverpool

As mentioned earlier, Leipzig’s style of football has many similarities to that of Liverpool, primarily their focus on verticality when in possession, and their ‘gegenpress’ when out of possession. This means that Laimer would be slotting into a system that he is already somewhat familiar with, and hence could be a seamless fit for the Reds. 

Laimer’s outstanding ability to successfully press the ball in midfield and high up the pitch is something that would suit Liverpool perfectly, and he would undoubtedly be an improvement on Wijnaldum when it comes to defending. Liverpool’s main way of conceding is unsurprisingly from counter-attacks, so Laimer’s athleticism, willingness to track back, and impressive tackling ability would definitely help Liverpool break down counter-attacks more effectively. Laimer also has one of the best engines in the Bundesliga and is known for his magnificent work rate, meaning that he would be able to cope with the high intensity football played by Liverpool, as well as the high intensity of the Premier League. 

Laimer is also very capable on the ball, with a decent passing range and the ability to drive forward from deep with the ball. His pass completion is only 82.4%, which is quite low for a central midfielder, but this is partly due to the fact that his role at Leipzig requires him to thread balls through the lines into his strikers, meaning that he is being asked to play relatively difficult passes. 

Comparison to Wijnaldum

As shown by the graphic above, Laimer trumps Wijnaldum in most metrics that are important for central midfielders, and the difference between their defensive stats is particularly noticeable. The Austrian even has superior creative stats than Wijnaldum, boasting 0.12 expected assists per 90 minutes, and 2.25 open-play shot creating actions per 90 minutes. In addition, his 344m progressive distance in regards to passing is fairly impressive, and is partly down the style of football that Leipzig play. His aforementioned pass completion is something that needs to improve, but at Liverpool his focus would be on playing more short passes, and hence it’d be likely that this area of his game would get better. Laimer also completes more successful dribbles per 90 minutes than Wijnaldum, and is dispossessed less often. 

Final Verdict

Konrad Laimer, under the tutelage of Julian Nagelsmann, is quickly becoming of the best defensive midfielders in European football, and has some of the best defensive statistics to show for it. His relentless pressing along with his ability to break up play in midfield has made him one of Leipzig’s most important and underrated players. His ability to unlock defences must not go unnoticed either, as Laimer often uses his pace to break out from midfield and play in one of his strikers, while also possessing the capability to create from deep. 

Liverpool have had a stellar campaign in which Jurgen Klopp’s side has won the treble, including the Premier League trophy which has eluded them since the competition’s conception in 1992. Despite this, Klopp will definitely be looking to bring in a couple of new faces to maintain the Reds’ dominance next season. Although Liverpool already have decent depth in central midfield, Klopp could look to bring in a little more quality, and I think Laimer would be the perfect man to fit what Klopp might want. 

He would be an improvement on Wijnaldum, and also would provide versatility. He could play as a holding midfielder as an alternative to Fabinho, or even at right-back which he has done occasionally during his time at Leipzig. There has been talk that Liverpool might be lacking in transfer funds in this next window, but Laimer would probably cost around the £30 million mark, meaning that he could be an affordable target for Jurgen Klopp. In addition, the midfielder already plays in a similar system to the one at Liverpool, meaning there will be some familiarity that could facilitate his transition into Liverpool’s side. 

Konrad Laimer is a massive part of this RB Leipzig side which is already one of Europe’s top teams, and the Austrian seems to be improving every time he plays under Nagelsmann. Whether or not he moves clubs in the next couple of seasons remains to be seen, but I’m sure that his 19/20 season would have piqued the interest of some of Europe’s elite. Despite being one of the lesser known names at Leipzig, he’s undoubtedly one of the Bundesliga’s best midfielders, and he’s one to watch in European football next season.