Rumour: Liverpool interested in Hannover 96 goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler?

Ron-Robert Zieler

According to the Daily Express and Bild, Liverpool are battling with a host of German clubs for 24-year-old former Manchester United keeper Ron-Robert Zieler.

Zieler, currently at Hannover 96, apparently, has a release clause in his contract that allows him to leave for £7 million before May 1, 2014.

The German, who has been capped twice by Germany, has attracted the interest of several clubs including Schalke and Borussia Monchengladbach.

Zieler hasn’t missed a minute of Bundesliga action since his first season at Hannover in 2010-11 and had an average claim success rate of 98% last season, and 94% this season. Putting that figure into perspective is intriguing. 98% of balls that Zieler attempted to claim from crosses or passes played into his area, he claimed. That stats proving how dominant he is when setting his sights on catching the ball.

Zieler is the second best in the Bundesliga this season, in terms of claim success. He has only failed one attempted claim whilst making a total of 11 punches – again, the second highest in Germany.

The German is an extremely active goalkeeper and one that dominates his area well. He is also quite agile, making most of his saves down in the bottom corners of his net.

He has kept one clean sheet this season in 9 Bundesliga matches, making an average of 2.11 saves per match and his average saves per goal is at a respectable 1.60. Zieler sits in 10th position in account of the number of saves so far this season (19). That’s an average of a save every 42 minutes.

His distribution is admirable with excellent throwing and goal kicking figures, however, his average length per pass/throw is 42 metres which makes one wonder whether Brendan Rodgers is as keen to sign Zieler as the press are making out.

Manuel Nueur, of Bayern Munich, who play a similar passing game to the one Rodgers wants at Liverpool has an average pass length of just 26m so it puts Zieler’s into perspective.

As a back up to Simon Mignolet, Zieler would be a good signing if Rodgers could get him for less than £4m. He is a capable shot-stopper and is powerful when claiming crosses – something which is ideal for a goalkeeper if they are to succeed in England.

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