Arsenal beware: Liverpool also in the hunt for ‘diamond in the rough’ with shades of Gareth Bale | OneFootball

Liverpool are on the cusp of seeing off Arsenal to win the Premier League title, and reports suggest that they’ll be hoping to do the same in the transfer race for a teenage prospect.

Earlier this week, Football Insider claimed that the Merseysiders could be prepared to accept offers of £60m for more for Luis Diaz in the summer, despite the Colombian’s recent upturn in form and 15-goal tally this season.

To that effect, they’ve been linked with several left-sided attackers in recent days, with Jamie Gittens and Kaoru Mitoma reportedly among those of interest, and another name has now been added to that list.

Liverpool could rival Arsenal for Jesus Rodriguez

According to CaughtOffside, Arsenal have had scouts keeping tabs on Real Betis winger Jesus Rodriguez, who made quite an impression on recruitment staff from north London.

However, the report warns that the Gunners ‘may have to watch out for’ Chelsea and Liverpool in the chase for the 19-year-old, with no offer made as of yet, nor have any concrete discussions taken place.

(Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)

Would Rodriguez yet be ready to make an impact at Liverpool?

Rodriguez has broken through to become a fully fledged first-team player with the LaLiga club this season, making 24 appearances for Manuel Pellegrini’s side ahead of this evening’s Conference League quarter-final second leg against Polish outfit Jagiellonia Bialystok.

A scout report from Breaking The Lines described the teenger as a ‘diamond in the rough’ with ‘explosive’ pace and a running style reminiscent of Gareth Bale. He’s also shown an aptitude for dribbling and an excellent work rate out of possession, but his impact in the final third is cited as an attribute which needs improving.

Those observations are corroborated by figures from FBref which show that, compared to positional peers in Europe’s five main leagues over the past year, he excels in terms of successful take-ons and defensive metrics like blocks and interceptions, but falls short for traits such as goals, assists and xG per 90 minutes.

That’d suggest that Rodriguez has no shortage of natural talent but still needs to refine his game if he’s to become a truly elite forward. At his age, though, he has more than enough time to work on his shortcomings while also enhancing his strengths.

At the moment he doesn’t seem ready to make the step up to Liverpool, but if Anfield chiefs see something in him to convince them that he’ll become a top-class player, they could potentially make a move this summer with a view to arranging a couple of loan spells elsewhere to aid his development.