Are these three stars Liverpool’s alternatives to Mario Götze? feat. Dortmund wizard

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Javier Pastore

Despite possessing outstanding natural ability on the ball and also being able to glide past defenders at ease, Javier Pastore has not been a complete success story at the Qatari-owned Paris Saint Germain. Often, he has been kept out of the PSG team by more all-round central midfielders such as Marco Verratti and Blaise Matuidi, while the Argentine has also faced a battle for a role on the flanks with Edinson Cavani and Lucas Moura seemingly ahead of him in the pecking order. This may well encourage him to look for pastures new in the coming months, and Liverpool is certainly not an inconceivable option, already being linked with the skilful midfielder.

He is a versatile player, capable of operating in an advanced midfield role all across the width of the pitch, and has also been known to drop deeper on occasion. Being able to contribute to the team in a variety of ways is important for any side, but arguably more so for Klopp’s Liverpool than many others. They attack as a team and often playing with five fairly similar midfielders, each has to cover for one another on a few occasions during a match. The 26-year-old Pastore would certainly not be out of place in this regard.

This does draw a question over the potential suitability of Javier Pastore in this Liverpool team though. Will the mercurial talent be able to conform with Klopp’s high pressing style? He strikes me as the sort of player who could well follow a very similar path to Roberto Firmino if he did indeed arrive at Anfield – struggling in the first few months before finding his feet and really understanding the philosophy which he has to adhere to.