Sahin arrives: This changes things...again

Liverpool managed to beat Arsenal FC to the signing of Real Madrid midfielder Nuri Sahin, so here’s how I think he might just fit into the Liverpool side.

How he got here

Nuri Sahin made his name as the youngest player to play in the Bundesliga, as well as the youngest to score in the German league. His first season was a decent season for the Turkish midfielder, amassing 1 goal and 6 assists to announce his arrival onto the German football scene.

His second season was not to be as fruitful, with him only notching up 1 assist. A loan move to Feyenoord followed the year after, as he recaptured some of his best form, grabbing 6 goals and 5 assists in the process for the Dutch club.

His more successful season remains the 2010/11 season, where he helped Borussia Dortmund to the Bundesliga crown. Sahin played an instrumental role in the German side’s route to success, as he scored 6 and provided 8 assists to help seal a move to Real Madrid.

Injuries and lack of game time saw Sahin fall down the pecking order, and now he’s at Liverpool to try and get that game time and to develop his game.

What he brings to the table

It’s hard to say what exactly he brings to the table for the simple reason that he hasn’t played regular football for Real Madrid last season. But his impact for his previous club Borussia Dortmund was huge, and if that’s anything to go by, Liverpool might have gotten one of the best loan deals of the transfer window.

He plays very much like ex-Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, and you could say that he plays similarly to new Liverpool signing Joe Allen as well. He is well versed in keeping the ball, and his passing range and accuracy is the strongest attribute of his game.

He is also exceptional from dead ball situations, with him scoring a number in his short footballing career thus far, and is able to get stuck in and make the tackles from the midfield. Whether or not he will be in the first XI week in, week out remains to be seen, but given Lucas Leiva’s recent injury, Sahin might have just arrived at the right place at the right time.

Initial Thoughts

Initially, I agreed with YouTube commentator Justin Block of JLBSportsTV (check him out) on how Liverpool should set up if Lucas was in the squad. Gerrard could be pushed up, whilst Sahin and Joe Allen control the midfield, and Lucas acts as the destroyer.

That now looks unlikely. The alternative seems to be to really control the midfield and play keep ball, with Nuri Sahin and Joe Allen right next to each other, and Gerrard reverting to a defensive midfielder berth. I personally think that he is severely underrated as a defensive midfielder, given the fact that he is known more for his attacking exploits, but I think that should we play real Tiki-Taka football, Gerrard must be more tactically disciplined, rather than just floating from one place to another.

Sterling would need to cut in from that left hand side, whilst I think that Fabio Borini should act as a finisher with Luis Suarez to his right.

That is something that we should definitely at least try sometime over the next weeks.

Clear Signs

You can really see what Brendan Rodgers is trying to do with this Liverpool side, and it is to try and emulate Spanish side Barcelona, who have perfected the art of the Tiki-taka over the past few years. In all honesty, I see us being two or three seasons behind that level.

We have a strong defence in Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel (one hard man, one tactical defender, just like Pique and Puyol). We have capable fullbacks in Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique (comparable to Alves and Abidal, just lacking in a bit of penetration and having a few more concentration lapses).

There’s a safe pair of hands in Pepe Reina (as good as, if not better than Valdes). We have the midfield pivot in Lucas (more distance, but lacking in the vision and ‘it’ factor of Sergio Busquets). There’s the ‘glue’ and through pass maker in Joe Allen (a less ambitious Xavi, but having just as good vision and execution).

We don’t quite have a player that thinks, passes and moves quite like Andres Iniesta, but Steven Gerrard provides that variation. He’s more all-action, although Iniesta’s vision and agility surpasses our captain’s ability.

There are parallels between David Villa and Fabio Borini (both get into the good positions and finish well, although Borini is still young and is less experienced and lacks the technical ability of the Spanish striker at the moment) and Luis Suarez in essence is our ‘false 9? (our Lionel Messi variation, minus the finishing of the fantastic little forward). Raheem Sterling has that potential, offering a lot of penetration and a bag full of tricks, and I reckon he’s a great talent for the future.

The project clearly has the right man at the helm to try and steer Liverpool in the right direction, now Liverpool must do their talking on the pitch and produce the results.

So, how do you guys think Liverpool should set up? Should Sahin be in that Liverpool first XI at all? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!