Breaking Down How Mario Gotze Would Fit in Tactically at Liverpool
Bayern Munich midfielder Mario Gotze is poised to become Liverpool's marquee signing of the summer, if reports are to be believed, with the 23-year-old set to take up a key role in Jurgen Klopp's attacking system on Merseyside.
The Guardian's Andy Hunter was among those to break the news of Liverpool's interest in Gotze at the end of March, writing that "[Klopp] has identified Gotze as a transfer priority for the end of the season and the Anfield club are increasingly optimistic of securing [his] signature."
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With just over one year left on his contract with Bayern, the Reds are looking to sign Gotze for up to £20 million, though this jars with the Bundesliga side's valuation of closer to £30 million.
Gotze is said to favour a "fresh start," and to be reunited with his former manager, with Klopp having overseen the Germany international's progress over three-and-a-half years with Borussia Dortmund, but as Gotze told Bild (h/t the Express) earlier in April, he may not make a decision over his future just yet:
"I don’t have a concrete schedule. I can’t say whether a decision about my future will be made before or after the European Championships.
I know that for instance [Dortmund captain] Mats Hummels has said he wants clarity before the tournament, but Toni Kroos [in 2014] only made his decision [to join Real Madrid from Bayern] after the World Cup. Everything’s open.
"
Gotze remains likely to leave Bayern, however, despite a change in manager at the Allianz Arena this summer, as Carlo Ancelotti takes over for Manchester City-bound Pep Guardiola.
So if Gotze makes the move to Merseyside, where would he fit into Klopp's tactical system?
Liverpool's System Under Klopp
When Klopp arrived at Liverpool in October, much of the focus turned to how the charismatic German would translate his successful system from Dortmund to a hit-and-miss squad of hopefuls assembled by his predecessor at Anfield, Brendan Rodgers.
With gegenpressing the hot topic, visions of high-intensity, attacking football were projected over a squad peppered with talents like Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana, Daniel Sturridge and a player familiar to Klopp, Roberto Firmino, with the Brazilian having joined Liverpool from Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim last summer.
From his first game in charge, it was clear Klopp was looking to implement a tactical and ideological revolution at Liverpool, with the Premier League reporting the 116 kilometres covered by the Reds at White Hart Lane was "1.2 kilometres greater than Mauricio Pochettino's men and over four kilometres more than the next-most distance covered by the Reds under Brendan Rodgers in 2015/16."
Whether this approach was sustainable in the short term was questionable, but it was clear Klopp needed to add an attacking flourish to this admirable showing of industry, and with Firmino returning from injury days later, Liverpool had their catalyst.
Since Klopp's arrival, Liverpool have set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation on 23 occasions, using a variation on a 4-3-3 setup 14 times, with a traditional, two-banks-of-four approach in a 4-1-4-1, 4-4-1-1 or 4-4-2 appearing eight times.
Most notably, this has seen the restoration of the archetypal No. 10, with Firmino more often than not operating in this ghosting playmaker role behind the striker.
This has allowed Firmino to combine with Coutinho and Lallana on the left and right flanks respectively, swarming around the lone striker in Sturridge or Divock Origi; in a 4-3-3, one of this quartet drops out in favour of a more fluid approach, with Firmino employed as a false nine at times this season.
As Liverpool's pressing game has improved, so has their ability to transition quickly into the attacking sector, and big wins over Manchester City, Southampton, Aston Villa, Stoke City, Dortmund and Everton serve as testament to this.
But as one particular January pursuit highlights, Klopp is not quite satisfied with his forward options at this stage.
Alex Teixeira and Liverpool's Pursuit of Width
Liverpool shocked supporters when, during what was expected to be a quiet January transfer window, the Guardian's Marcus Christenson reported they had made a £24.6 million bid for then-Shakhtar Donetsk forward Alex Teixeira.
The Reds' chief executive, Ian Ayre, flew to Shakhtar's mid-season training camp in Florida to look to secure a deal, with the Ukrainian club holding fast with their valuation of £38 million.
At a stage where Coutinho, Sturridge, Origi and Danny Ings were all sidelined through injury, Liverpool needed to move fast to bolster their attacking ranks, and with Teixeira having scored 67 goals in 146 league games for Shakhtar, supporters quickly got behind this motion.
But with Teixeira making the move to Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Suning at the beginning of February, Liverpool had missed out on their man—though, as Klopp told reporters including the Liverpool Echo's James Pearce after pulling out of the deal, this was a responsible decision:
"We made offers. I won’t say too much about that, but they were realistic, absolutely, with the pluses of it being January, the Premier League, all the pluses you have when you make negotiations with other clubs.
But it was a case of 'if you don’t want it okay, we can’t change the situation, do what you want'. It’s important for now and for the future. It’s not that we haven’t got money or anything, but you have to work respectfully and responsibly.
That’s what we do. We will do things, for sure, not in this transfer window, but we will do things.
"
Weeks later, Liverpool announced the signing of Schalke centre-back Joel Matip, but while Klopp praised the Cameroon international ahead of his arrival, as relayed by the Press Association (h/t This is Anfield), he once again turned the focus to the flanks.
"We have enough strikers, five with Roberto [Firmino]," he said, "but not too many wingers, just a few young ones with great potential," before adding that he was looking to build a squad "where you can play different systems and react to different situations."
With Teixeira a tactically flexible forward capable of operating on either wing or in the No. 10 role, the 26-year-old Brazilian would have solved this problem for Klopp.
But with Teixeira settling in Nanjing, Klopp has seemingly turned his attention to his former protege, Gotze.
Mario Gotze's Potential Role at Liverpool
Like Teixeira, Gotze is a versatile attacking player with a track record of success in every position across the forward line, with his final season under Klopp at Dortmund in 2012/13 providing a useful showcase of his flexibility.
Though largely deployed as a central attacking midfielder, Gotze also made five appearances on the left wing, five on the right and a sole outing as a centre-forward—these 10 games brought six goals and four assists from the youngster, then only 20 years old.
Dovetailing with the likes of Marco Reus and Kevin Grosskreutz, Gotze's position was never rigid in Klopp's Dortmund attack, and it would often be the case that the midfielder drifted from his central role closer to Reus on the left or right flank.
That season, Gotze scored 10 goals and registered a further 12 assists in just 28 Bundesliga appearances—an elite record for a 20-year-old, and higher than that of the PFA's Young Player of the Year, Dele Alli, this season, with the Tottenham Hotspur man scoring 10 goals and laying on a further nine in 32 league games.
Like Alli, Gotze is a tenacious attacking midfielder at his best driving into the penalty area and if Liverpool were to sign the Bayern man, he would suit a number of roles in Klopp's favoured 4-2-3-1, as well as allowing him to "play different systems and react to different situations."
Most likely, Gotze would be signed to alternate between the No. 10 and right-wing roles, depending on the fitness of Firmino, Lallana and Sturridge, with Lallana the most probable casualty in the long term.
Interchanging with Firmino and Coutinho in a 4-2-3-1 would allow Klopp to capitalise on Gotze's talents as a high-pressing, fleet-footed forward, comfortable both driving towards the byline or cutting inside and firing shots on goal.
A top-level forward prospect, Gotze could provide Klopp with the missing piece as he builds his attack for 2016/17.
Statistics via Transfermarkt.co.uk.
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