Miralem Pjanic Ticks the Boxes for Liverpool but Not as Gerrard's Replacement

As soon as Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers was spotted at the Vatican in Rome last week (as per MailOnline), rumours began to circulate as to the reason for his trip to Italy.

The fact he was accompanied by his girlfriend on the trip, in the week of Valentine's Day, could have meant it was a simple personal holiday, but assistant manager Colin Pascoe told reporters he was away for a "club matter" for a "meeting in Europe" (as per the Express).

Sportsmail claimed that Rodgers "flew out to do some groundwork on trying to sign Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic"—a player the Reds were linked with a move for last summer.

And now the Mirror's Adrian Kajumba—hardly the most reputable name when it comes to Liverpool FC-related transfers—claims that Liverpool will have to pay £37 million for "the man they want to replace Steven Gerrard."

Kajumba claims Rodgers held talks with Roma director of football Walter Sabatini during his trip to the Italian capital last week and that Pjanic is "Rodgers’ priority and is his no.1 choice to replace his outgoing captain."

As ever, though, the two clubs appear not to be on the same page with the player's valuation; with Roma wanting £37 million and Liverpool valuing the player nearer £20 million.

Gerrard 'replacement'

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When newspapers talk about any player "replacing" Gerrard, there are two things to keep in mind. First, that nobody can replace Gerrard per se; and second, which Gerrard are they talking about replacing? The all-action box-to-box midfielder of his primary years with the club; the creator and goalscorer in the No.10 role during his prime; or the temporary deep-lying-playmaker of last season?

The truth is, none of the above. Nobody replaces Gerrard. Liverpool simply sign a new midfielder to improve their squad going forward.

So the question is simply, would Pjanic, like any other potential signing, be a good signing for Liverpool?

Type of player

What do we know about Pjanic? Well, he's 24 years old, born in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, currently with AS Roma, and a key fixture for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national side—he played the full match in each of their three World Cup games last summer.

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Pjanic is, according to This Is Anfield's Nikola Mitrovic, primarily an attacking midfielder. Sky Sports writes that he's "in the mould of Juventus veteran Andrea Pirlo" and "has thrived in the Italian capital as a deep-lying playmaker."

Transfermarkt and WhoScored each claims his main role is central midfield.

So, to answer the earlier question of "which Gerrard"—Pjanic is all three, certainly offering versatility.

Sky Sports highlight Pjanic's accurate long-range passing and also his ability from set pieces. It's at this point he starts ticking more and more boxes in the Steven Gerrard similarity contest.

Perhaps the main difference with Gerrard is that Pjanic is far more technical and less physical in stature—5'10" compared to 6'1".

It is for that reason, and Pjanic's relative lack of goals, that Mitrovic compares him more to Andres Iniesta or David Silva in terms of his style of play.

Goalscoring concern

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That lack of goals—just three this season for Roma in all competitions—is an area he would need to improve, with the Reds already hosting a wealth of players who don't provide enough goals from midfield.

Pjanic begins to sound not too dissimilar to Philippe Coutinho, a talented playmaker whose biggest weakness is goalscoring—something the Brazilian himself has acknowledged as an area of his game he must improve.

With Coutinho having only scored three goals this season, the same as Jordan Henderson, do Liverpool need another non-goalscoring creative midfielder?

Suitability

Undoubtedly Pjanic is the style of player Rodgers likes—a technician—and Liverpool will need better options from set pieces post-Gerrard so having a player of that ability in the team would be welcome.

Much will depend on where Rodgers envisages Pjanic fitting into his side. With Coutinho, Adam Lallana, Raheem Sterling, Lazar Markovic and Jordon Ibe, Liverpool have a wealth of young, talented, attacking midfielders.

If Pjanic was to be played in a deeper midfield role, concerns would be raised over his physical ability to meet the demands of the Premier League. Perhaps Liverpool would be better with a player more similar to Nemanja Matic in stature to fill that role.

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What Pjanic lacks in physicality, he makes up for in tenacity, and perhaps his best role would be as an orthodox centre-midfield continuity player; retaining possession, offering creativity and ability from set pieces.

Ultimately, if Pjanic were to replace anyone within the Reds' squad, it would be far better if that player was Joe Allen than Gerrard. He's an upgrade on the Welshman.

A fee of £37 million would be a lot to pay, but if Liverpool can strike a deal for nearer the £20 million mark, Pjanic would be another talented young player, with good European experience, to add to Rodgers' squad.