How Liverpool could line up with Jadon Sancho

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 15 February 2020

Amid speculation linking Liverpool with an interest in Jadon Sancho, Sports Mole looks at how he could fit in to the European champions' plans.

Liverpool have firmly established themselves as the dominant force in world football over the past year or so, winning the Champions League, European Super Cup and Club World Cup in addition to domestic form the like of which has never been seen before.

Jurgen Klopp's side boast an unprecedented 25-point lead at the top of the Premier League table having won 25 of their 26 matches this term - the best record at this stage of a campaign in the history of Europe's top five leagues.

However, it has often been said that reaching the top of the mountain is the easy part - it is staying there that marks a truly great team.

Given that the Reds have taken 103 points from the last 105 on offer in the Premier League it is safe to assume that this team is not a flash in the pan, and the lack of activity in recent transfer windows suggests that Klopp feels as though his jigsaw is more or less complete.

New additions could be required to keep ahead of the chasing pack, though, and one player linked with a move to Anfield this summer is Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho.

The 19-year-old has been a revelation since his move to the Bundesliga but looks increasingly likely to return to England should any team meet his £100m asking price, although Barcelona and Bayern Munich are also thought to be in the running alongside Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City.

Here, Sports Mole looks at how Liverpool could line up if Sancho was to make the switch to Merseyside.

The obvious question surrounding any Liverpool move for Sancho is where he would fit into the already world-class front three.

Stats of 16 goals and 17 assists in 30 games for a teenager demand that he start - not to mention his likely nine-figure price tag - but Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino are also among the first names on a star-studded team sheet and none of them would be likely to sit out on a regular basis.

Klopp's preferred formation is 4-3-3, but he has often switched to a 4-2-3-1 system when Plan A has not been working and it has yielded results on numerous occasions.

In that formation it is Salah who usually leads the line, with Firmino dropping into a number 10 role behind the striker, and a similar set-up would allow Sancho to play in his favoured right-wing role with Mane on the other flank.

The addition of Sancho would also lessen the impact of the Africa Cup of Nations, which is likely to deprive Liverpool of both Salah and Mane for a chunk of next season.

However, squeezing the youngster into the team has an inevitable impact elsewhere, and a 4-2-3-1 formation means one less midfield spot for Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita, Adam Lallana and James Milner to fight over.

Captain Henderson and Wijnaldum have been in particularly good form this season, but the latter may be the most likely to miss out if one has to be cut given Fabinho's world-class ability to break play up and launch attacks.