Ex-Red urges Jurgen Klopp to sign Brazilian winger who will put ‘pressure’ on Mo Salah | OneFootball

Stan Collymore believes Leeds United star Raphinha should opt for a move to Liverpool this summer and round off a brilliant transfer window for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

The Brazil international has been linked with a move to Anfield in recent weeks, but it was reported that he preferred a move to Barcelona instead.

The Catalan outfit are struggling for funds, however, and may not be able to meet the Yorkshire outfit’s £60m valuation for the 25-year-old.

“If Jurgen Klopp can show the boy how to play with more tactical discipline, the Reds will have one hell of a potential threat down the left or right with a promise of goals if he stays high up the pitch rather than drifting,” Collymore told the Mirror.

“I look at Chelsea and think they are all right for that kind of player, they have good players left and right. People will say that if you can hone his talent and skills, he can give you the same ‘Wow!’ factor , or at least a similar one, to Eden Hazard, even though they’re different players.

“But I just don’t see him as an automatic pick there. With Arsenal, he would go there and carry on in the same vein as he plays at Leeds, where I don’t think he is as tactically aware as I’d like him to be, a lot of what he does is off the cuff.

READ MORE: Steve McManaman weighs in on Liverpool’s transfer window so far and hints at one dilemma Jurgen Klopp may experience next term

Collymore believes that the AXA Training Centre would be the prefect place to aid Raphinha’s development.

He is full of quality, that’s been clear ever since he joined Leeds from Rennes for £17m in 2020, but there’s aspects of his game that Klopp could help fine tune to ensure the winger reachers his full potential.

The former Borussia Dortmund boss is renowned for his man-management skills and having the ability to help players flourish.

If the winger was to arrive on Merseyside, Collymore also believes that it would place Mo Salah under some ‘pressure’ to decide whether he’s remaining at Anfield beyond his current contract which expires at the end of next season.

“But if you’re looking at Klopp and what he has done with Salah and Sadio Mane then he could do the same with Raphinha,” Collymore added.

“What was Mane’s tactical awareness like when he arrived at Liverpool? And you could ask the same question about Salah. Yes, he scored goals with Roma and he has that outrageous pace, but he still needed polishing to become an even better goalscorer in the Premier League. With Salah in the last year of his contract — and there’s nothing for now saying he is going to stay and nothing saying he is going to go — you wonder if Klopp’s uncanny knack of working with gifted sidemen might appeal to Raphinha.

“And if Liverpool, on the back of good business with Darwin Nunez and Fabio Carvalho, were to get Raphinha and tell him to watch Salah for the next year, not only will he learn but it would also put Mo under a nice bit of pressure to make him think, ‘Am I going to stay or am I going to go?’ Nobody is comparing Raphinha to Salah because you can’t compare anyone to Salah.

“But he has rapid pace, amazing skills and ability, and he can be polished to score more goals and get more assists. If Klopp can do that then, all of a sudden, by this time next year, Liverpool could have an all-new front three and it will be as if people have blinked and not even noticed, which would be amazing.”

Raphinha certainly has the ability to flourish on Merseyside, but in all honesty, our chances of signing him in this window look rather slim.

Barcelona remain interested whilst fellow Premier League outfit Arsenal are also keen on securing his signature.

Our signing of Calvin Ramsay is believed to be the last of our incomings this window, but with the Leeds United man’s contract not expiring until 2024, there’s no reason why a potential move for him cannot be revisited next year.

#Ep55 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: Farewell Sadio Mane, Mo Salah contract hope… & more!