Better passer than Van Dijk: Liverpool in contact with 20-year-old centre-back with crazy price-tag – report

Liverpool are reportedly keen on Benfica’s Antonio Silva ahead of the opening of the summer window.

CaughtOffside reports that the Portuguese wonderkid – who comes with a price tag of £85.4m – has been the subject of contacts from the Reds, Arsenal and Manchester United.

The Merseysiders are thought to be in the market for defensive reinforcements, particularly with Joel Matip calling time on his career at L4.

FOLLOW Empire of the Kop on Instagram (@empireofthekop) HERE

READ MORE: Liverpool legend suggests it makes business sense to sell £44.9m player; hasn’t done enough this season

READ MORE: Liverpool legend has a theory why Darwin Nunez wasn’t clapping Jurgen Klopp

An even better pass completion rate than Virgil van Dijk

FBref have the 20-year-old down as completing 92.9% of his passes per 90 compared to Virgil van Dijk’s 91.3%.

That said, we’d expect these figures to be negatively impacted by the pace and aggressive pressing styles present in the Premier League. If Silva were to make the switch to England, that is!

A more than respectable carrier of the ball, judging by the stats collated, we’d have no problem with the Benfica star partnering our No.4.

Though, he’d have to seriously improve his numbers in the air to be considered a serious competitor for our Dutch colossus. An average of 60.5% of aerial duels won per 90 this term falls considerably short of Van Dijk’s 81.4% in 2023/24.

EOTK Insider with Neil Jones: Questions Arne Slot must answer at Liverpool, where Amorim went wrong and much more!

The post Better passer than Van Dijk: Liverpool in contact with 20-year-old centre-back with crazy price-tag – report appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.