Liverpool about to complete deal for NEXT Conor Bradley | OneFootball

Liverpool are closing in on their first signing of the summer it seems.

With Trent Alexander-Arnold's decision to leave the club after 20 years of service now out in the opens, Richard Hughes' first objective of the transfer window has become very clear.

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He needs to find a way to replace Alexander-Arnold's creativity in the team. He also needs to find a player who can fill the vacant right-back position.

Conor Bradley may be the first choice replacement for the Reds' no.66 but he alone cannot be the one to replace Alexander-Arnold.

Liverpool need more additions and it looks like Hughes has already set his sights on what could be the perfect transfer for the Reds.

Jeremie Frimpong has emerged as the frontrunner for this role. Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Frimpong is one of the main players on the shortlist.

Around the same time, Paul Joyce writing in The Times said Frimpong was a leading candidate for Liverpool.

It's one that simply makes sense, especially because he has agreed a release clause in his contract worth €35m. This agreement is already in place for this summer - meaning Liverpool just have to activate it.

Let's be honest here, Liverpool love activating release clauses - especially when they are an absolute bargain like this one.

Many have questioned the signing though because Frimpong has been playing as a wing-back in a totally different system under Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen.

Currently, if you're looking at his heatmap it's true that he looks more like a winger, and similar to Mo Salah's heatmap than Alexander-Arnold.

But what if the objective is not to sign a player similar to Alexander-Arnold? What if the Reds are planning to go in a completely different route.

When we look at Frimpong's heatmap over the course of his career as a right-back on Wyscout there is one current Liverpool player he resembles.

It's not Alexander-Arnold, it's Bradley.

© Wyscout - Frimpong's Trent Alexander-Arnold's and and Conor Bradley's heatmap.

On the top left-corner of the image above you can see Frimpong's heatmap. On the right, is Bradley's and the bottom is Alexander-Arnold.

There's a clear pattern here. Alexnder-Arnold likes to shift into central areas whereas Bradley does not and Frimpong's the same.

In fact if you look at the two heatmaps of the latter two players there are practically identical. So the direction seems to be from Liverpool is that Hughes is not trying to sign the NEXT Alexander-Arnold.

Instead Liverpool are pursuing the NEXT Bradley. And for that role there is no one better than Frimpong.

The direction is exciting as well. Frimpong's arrival will mean Liverpool having traditional full-backs again. It means either Frimpong or Bradley overlapping with Salah, providing more width and more intensity on the right channels.

It's the new trend in modern football - it's the trend that has gotten Paris Saint Germain to the Champions League final and it looks like Slot wants more of the same at Anfield.