Why Ben Chilwell Would Be a Risky Signing for Liverpool
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has reportedly made Leicester City's promising young left-back Ben Chilwell one of his priority targets for the summer transfer window, as he prepares for his first full campaign on Merseyside—but whether the 19-year-old can fill the Reds' defensive void remains questionable at this stage.
According to the Telegraph's Chris Bascombe, Liverpool have seen a £7 million bid for Chilwell rejected by the Premier League champions, who are said to be holding out for a fee closer to £10 million for their bright prospect.
Bascombe continues to reveal the Foxes' hardline stance over Chilwell's future, the youngster's desire to move to Anfield and Liverpool's likelihood of renewing their bid before pre-season:
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"Leicester have no cause to soften their stance with the club's Thai owners in no need for any transfer dividends as they seek to enhance their squad rather than lose players.
Chilwell is understood to be keen to talk to Liverpool but will wait to see if the asking price is met. He has been offered a new deal, Leicester hoping an extensive pay rise and the promise of Champions League football in the season ahead will encourage Chilwell to stay.
Liverpool may yet be prepared to bid higher, offering instalments to any potential deal which may meet the £10 million asking price.
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If a deal is agreed between the two clubs, Chilwell could follow Marko Grujic, Joel Matip, Loris Karius and latest addition Sadio Mane through the Shankly Gates this summer, as Klopp remoulds his squad following an ultimately disappointing 2015/16.
But with left-back a contentious position within the Liverpool squad throughout the previous campaign, Chilwell would arrive with considerable pressure, and the addition of the former Huddersfield Town loanee would be something of a risky move for Klopp.
Liverpool's interest in Chilwell should come as no surprise, with the England under-21 international finding himself on the radar of a number of top clubs of late—as Arsenal's failed £3.5 million bid in the summer of 2015, per the Telegraph's John Percy, proves.
Percy suggested Chilwell was "seen as an eventual successor to Nacho Monreal," and the Gunners' chief scout Steve Rowley may have struck upon a similarly well-rounded left-back.
Chilwell has progressed swiftly through the ranks at the King Power Stadium, after being named the club's Academy Player of the Year for the 2014/15 campaign, beating Elliott Moore and Matty Miles to the award.
But while that season's Under-21s Player of the Year, forward Harry Panayiotou, was released by Leicester this summer, the club's efforts to keep Chilwell following a 2015/16 season that saw him follow in Panayiotou's footsteps suggest he is unlikely to tread a similar path any longer.
A fleet-footed left-back comfortable supporting his centre-back with strong defensive work and driving into the attacking sector to deliver a pinpoint cross into the penalty area, Chilwell has been lauded for his maturity despite his young years—as Foxes midfielder Andy King said last summer, per the Leicester Mercury's James Sharpe:
"If you speak to him, he will probably say that all the lads have been brilliant with him from when he came away to Austria [for Leicester's pre-season training camp].
The boys can see he has got bundles of ability and a real good chance of getting involved this season.
He's got a good head on his shoulders as well, which makes a big difference for someone with his amount of ability.
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While Claudio Ranieri eventually decided to loan Chilwell to Huddersfield on a short-term deal in November, he was still able to showcase his talents for both the Terriers, Leicester's under-21s and in three cup appearances for the first team in 2015/16.
After remaining on the substitutes' bench for his first eligible outing for Huddersfield against Sheffield Wednesday, Chilwell made eight consecutive appearances for David Wagner's side, including seven starts.
It is likely that former Borussia Dortmund II manager Wagner's influence has convinced Klopp of Chilwell's quality, with the former explaining their relationship to the Guardian's Andy Hunter in December, saying "I've known Jurgen longer than I’ve known my wife."
Wagner has adopted a similar, high-energy pressing game at Huddersfield as he did with Dortmund's reserve side—that which Klopp has looked to translate from his time at the Westfalenstadion in his new role at Liverpool.
With this in mind, Chilwell's short, successful at the John Smith's Stadium suggests he is both comfortable in this system and perhaps capable of emulating one of Wagner's Dortmund youngsters: Erik Durm.
A 21-year-old Durm made the step up from Dortmund's youth ranks to Klopp's first team in 2013/14, making 27 appearances at left-back as BVB finished second in the Bundesliga, and he has remained in a regular role following Thomas Tuchel's appointment.
Much like Durm, Monreal and current Foxes left-back Christian Fuchs, Chilwell is an accomplished all-rounder—but while Klopp was able to take a leap of faith with Durm in 2013, given the strength of first-choice left-back Marcel Schmelzer, replicating this with Chilwell this summer would be more of a risk.
Chilwell would likely arrive on Merseyside to operate as backup to current starting left-back Alberto Moreno, but the Spaniard—who turns 24 in July—endured a turbulent end to 2015/16 that suggests he would benefit from a more experienced competitor.
Comparing Moreno's Premier League statistical output for last season with that of Chilwell across his eight-game stretch with Huddersfield shows the former is far more well-rounded in the defensive sector:
| Moreno | Chilwell | |||
| Tackles Won % | 46% | 55% | ||
| Headers Won % | 46% | 27% | ||
| Fouls Committed % | 57% | 29% |
While Chilwell proved more measured in the challenge, winning 11 of his 20 attempted tackles and making just five fouls, Moreno is considerably more adept in the air, winning 46 percent of his aerial duels to the teenager's lowly 27 percent.
Furthermore, propensity for error, one of the key factors behind criticism of Moreno's place in the Liverpool first team—led by Jamie Carragher following the former Sevilla defender's poor performance against his former side in the UEFA Europa League final, as relayed by the Mirror's James Whaling—is present in Chilwell's game, too.
Moreno made two defensive errors in 32 games in the Premier League in 2015/16, while Chilwell made one in just eight appearances for Huddersfield, serving to highlight the 19-year-old's inexperience.
If Klopp is looking for a more reliable backup this summer, moving for the Leicester man would be something of a gamble, despite his significant potential; though signing Chilwell may represent more of a risk in terms of the German's stance over the oft-criticised Moreno.
Having provided eight players under the age of 23 with their Reds debuts last season, and having witnessed the likes of Sheyi Ojo (19), Cameron Brannagan (20) and Divock Origi (21) shine, Klopp is clearly a manager with faith in youth.
But as he addresses what remains something of a problem position in his squad this summer, Klopp may be wise to look to inject experience at left-back, rather than banking on a bright, young future.
Statistics via Squawka.com and Transfermarkt.co.uk.
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