In spite of his announced departure from Liverpool at the season’s end, coach Jurgen Klopp has purportedly directed the club to actively pursue the acquisition of Wolverhampton Wanderers’ left-back, Rayan Ait-Nouri, in the forthcoming summer transfer window. As per reports from TEAMtalk, Klopp views Ait-Nouri as a potentially valuable addition to the Reds’ squad, especially as the team seeks to revitalize its defensive lineup during the upcoming transfer period. While Klopp has recently overseen a midfield revamp with the signings of players like Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo, and Ryan Gravenberch, attention has now shifted to fortifying the defense.
The left flank of the defense has been identified as the next area requiring reinforcement, albeit initially focusing on the center-back position. With the advancing age of captain Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip’s career at Anfield seemingly coming to a definitive end due to a knee injury, Liverpool is in dire need of recruiting a quality center-back in the upcoming summer transfer window. Therefore, the potential pursuit of Ait-Nouri comes as somewhat unexpected. Nevertheless, with Klopp’s impending departure, the dynamics within the club are set to change come summer.
Ait-Nouri has showcased his abilities for Wolves as a wing-back in Gary O’Neil’s dynamic 3-4-3 system this season, a style not dissimilar to the one employed by Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen. Alonso’s preferred formation heavily relies on wing-backs such as Jeremie Frimpong and Alex Grimaldo. Hence, it can be argued that Ait-Nouri would seamlessly fit into this role, perhaps even more so than Liverpool’s current left-backs, Andrew Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas.