Should Liverpool consider to get Ricardo Rodriguez?

Liverpool’s recruitment drive looks set to continue in January with manager Brendan Rodgers recently speaking about adding another one or two quality players in the upcoming transfer window, similar to the club’s exploits last winter when Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge were signed for a combined fee of around £20 million.

Those two are arguably worth that valuation each now, after an exciting first 10 months in a Red shirt from both.

While the attack was the focus of improvements last winter, one area of the team which still needs addressing as Liverpool look to seal a Champions League berth for next term is the left-back slot.

Jose Enrique continues to underwhelm too often to be considered a top-quality option, though he looks a far better option for Rodgers when compared to the uneven performances put in so far by on-loan Valencia man Aly Cissokho. In fairness to the French defender, he is adjusting to his first spell in the Premier League and also suffered a spell out injured soon after arriving at Anfield, but all told, left-back is certainly a longer term area of concern for the team’s continued progress.

Ricardo Rodriguez of Bundesliga club Wolfsburg could be ideal for Liverpool, reports suggest that Sunderland were after him in the summer. As such, it looks as though at least an £8 million off would be needed to secure this signing.

The 21-year-old is a regular starter for Wolfsburg, having not missed a single minute of league action so far this term. His side sit fifth in the Bundesliga table, with seven wins from 12 games and only 14 goals conceded—the joint third best in the league, after Dortmund and Bayern, alongside with Leverkusen.

Defensively, there are few players who can match up to the standards he has set early this season. Rodriguez is averaging a hefty seven defensive actions per game at present, including 24 interceptions and eight blocked shots, both of which put him around the top 20 of the league. It is his overall contribution total, though, which really make him stand out as an all-round defender.

Rodriguez has won 110 duels in total, placing him fourth in the Bundesliga this season and the highest-ranked defender.

His tackle win percentage, standing at 83% so far, is particularly impressive; he has already, in 12 games, won almost as many tackles as he did in the whole of last season. Jose Enrique won 85% of his tackles for the Reds last season (73% this term, Cissokho on 63%) and won 63% of all his duels (52% this, Cissokho on 54%) so again, Rodriguez’s current rate of 68% would stand him in good stead.

Indeed, aerially he shows a greater aptitude for regularly winning his battles with a 63% win rate—40 from 63—whereas Enrique has won only two from nine this year and recorded a paltry 38% success rate last term.

There is, then, every expectation that, defensively, the Reds would be at least as well off with Rodriguez in place as they have been with Enrique, yet with more capacity for improvement as the Swiss defender naturally progresses with age.

Going forward, where Liverpool’s No. 3 is seen as a good source of chances at times despite his tendency to delay passes too long and suspect decision-making in the final third, Rodriguez is set for a breakout season.

Last term saw Enrique create 26 chances in 29 games, or 0.9 per game. Cissokho manages 0.6 per game, both this year at Liverpool (three in five appearances) and last season at Valencia (15 in 25). Rodriguez easily outstripped the pair in 2012-13 for Wolfsburg, creating 29 chances in 24 games—1.2 chances per game—but this year he has far and away improved on that, with a whopping 1.75 chances per game. He is currently second in the entire Wolfsburg team for chances created, with 21 in 12 games, behind only mercurial playmaker Diego.

His shooting isn’t bad either: Rodriguez averages more than a shot per game this season and yields a 62% accuracy rate—though he has only found the back of the net once so far. Fair to say, shooting is not high on the list of attributes for either of Liverpool’s current left-back duo, who are indeed much better served attempting to find a team-mate in the box or maintaining possession rather than looking to shoot from anything further out than five yards.

Statistically, there is plenty of reason for optimism if the Reds are targeting Ricardo Rodriguez. Tactically and mentally, Rodgers would have to judge if the young defender is ready to make the step up—but with 17 full international caps already to his name and looking a good bet to make Switzerland’s World Cup squad next summer, the future certainly looks bright for the attack-minded left-back.