If Liverpool has to say goodbye to Georginio Wijnaldum, Yves Bissouma is a suitable successor in the eyes of John Barnes. Bissouma has been playing for Brighton & Hove Albion since 2018 and makes a good impression on the former England international. Wijnaldum has an expiring contract and is considered by Ronald Koeman as the desired reinforcement for Barcelona.
Wijnaldum had a base spot in 39 of the 46 games that Liverpool played this season. He formed a midriff with Fabinho and James Milner in the last three official duels, but with Naby Keïta, Thiago Alcántara, Jordan Henderson and Curtis Jones, trainer Jürgen Klopp has the necessary options behind the hand in midfield. Yet Barnes thinks so the Reds have to work on Bissouma, who still loosened tongues on Monday with his performance against Everton. “What an exceptionally good footballer is Yves Bissouma”, tweeted Gary Lineker after that game, while Jamie Carragher as an analyst of Sky Sports predicted that ‘the clubs will not just come and look for him next summer, but beg for him’.
Bissouma plays centrally in Brighton’s midfield. The Malian came over from Lille in the summer of 2018 for approximately seventeen million euros. Bissouma was elected man of the match after the game with Everton. WhoScored statisticians rated his performance with a 7.57; on average he achieves an average of 6.93 this season. Bee Sky Sports Kevin Campbell, former Arsenal and Everton forward, said the midfielder is now worth far more than the amount he came over for in 2018. “If you have to pay less than 40-50 million pounds (converted 46-58 million euros) for him, you have done well.” Brighton trainer Graham Potter said Bissouma ‘ran the game’ and was ‘very good’. “He and Adam Lallana together made a good contribution to midfield.”
No player sent more passes (34) and successful passes (30) on the opponent’s half during Brighton – Everton than Bissouma. In addition, no one won more duels than him (10 out of 13) and performed the most tackles (5). “He fits within the demands that Jürgen Klopp has of his three midfielders. He is strong on the defensive, works hard, has a quick ball handling and occasionally shows that he can dribble well,” said Barnes, between 1987 and 1997. 314 league matches for Liverpool, in conversation with BonusCode Bets. “At Brighton he may not do that very often, but he did in the past. He is certainly one of the players who fits in the three-man midfield of Liverpool. He is a bit like Georginio Wijnaldum, although he does not go that often. forward as Gini, because Brighton has a different playing style. But Bissouma can. “
“He is 24 years old and therefore still young. He would fit well,” concludes the 79-time England international. Bissouma has been linked with Arsenal several times in recent months. The Gunners were already interested in January, but a transfer did not materialize then. Arsenal would have asked to be able to stay informed of the developments surrounding Bissouma. Football London stated in January that Bissouma himself has long been a supporter of Arsenal. His contract in Brighton will run for another two years. Brighton is currently in 15th place and seven points from the relegation streak. Descent to the Championship could hasten Bissouma’s departure, but that opportunity has been diminished by good results in recent weeks.