Liverpool has had its fair share of wonderful children over the years. Even right now they have some youngsters with incredible potential in Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho and we can’t forget that Trent Alexander-Arnold is still only 23 years old and has been playing at the highest level for us consistently since the 2016-17 season, amassing a total of 168 appearances so far.
Then there is the Academy, which continues to produce quality talent, perhaps not always to the point of being able to break into the first team, but at least the club has been able to turn a handsome profit, helping to build a title. Winning team.
Today we take a look at 18-year-old Colombian winger Jhon Durán, who is currently playing in what can only be described as a breakout season for the Chicago Fire in MLS.
With the departure of Sadio Mane and our recent bad luck with injuries from front to back, what could the striker offer this Liverpool?
However, it is worth noting that we are not the only team interested in the youngster, as Chelsea have also shown interest, with both teams appearing to be more interested as the year progresses, after Duran joined the MLS team in January of this year.
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Liverpool reportedly sent the same scout to the US to watch Jhon Duran that they sent to Portugal to watch louis diaz we previously signed him in January and the scouts seem quite excited about the prospect of signing the young Colombian striker.
Durán made his senior debut for Colombia in September, replacing Radamel Falcao in a 4-1 win over Guatemala. He also made an appearance against Mexico in a 3-2 victory.
If we had any scouts there last weekend, I’m sure they would have been very impressed with Duran as he scored two goals in Cincinnati helping them to their first win since 9/11.
So if we had to pick the wunderkind, what could he offer our already pretty stacked offensive lineup?
Duran is a tall option at 6’1, he’s fast and quite strong physically. While not as “tricky” on the ball as our other wide options in Mo Salah and Diaz. That doesn’t mean I’m not nice to him. football at his feet, because he is. Pretty good actually.
Duran is a player full of confidence and clearly believes in his own ability but sometimes that can be his downfall, we all like to see a player have a pop but sometimes when there is a much better option Duran opts to take he shot instead.
But we have seen that with Salah on more than one occasion and look how many goals he scores for us. However, this can also be a strength, as he finds goals from awkward angles, in tight spaces but also from distance with his play from a wide position.
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He could bring goals, he brings an option with strength and pace and he brings youth which is actually a very important thing for us right now, that’s one of the reasons why we’re so committed to Jude. bellingham after all.
For £10m Duran looks like an interesting option, the question is whether or not he will ever get playing time for us with Jurgen Klopp and Pep Lijnders. Training with our first team would improve a lot, that cannot be denied.
Although Duran has been playing really well and attracting attention from across the pond, it’s safe to say that the Chicago Fire’s season hasn’t been a good one; they currently sit 12th in the Eastern Conference, with just 10 wins in 33 games.
Although pundits think it looks pretty good for them in their next game on Sunday as they are slightly ahead as 23/20 favourites, a £5 bet returns £10.75, New England Revolution are 2/1 underdogs who they return £15 of the same bet.
You can find odds at BetMGM Illinois for upcoming MLS matches as well as the Premier League. yesOn top of which, how do things look for Liverpool as they face a series of really tough matches? Well, our next game is against Arsenal, at the Emirates. Arsenal are currently top of the table and with home advantage they find themselves slight favorites at 6/4 stake, £5 on that £12.50 return, but if you believe our boys, so you can get 31/20 in Liverpool. which returns £12.75 of the same bet.
Even after a relatively poor start in the Premier League, it’s impressive that the Reds remain third favorites to win the league.
In order, the top 4 favorites to win the league this season are Manchester City, of course, at 1/5, returning £6 from £5. Arsenal are next at 8/1, returning £45 from £5, then us at 12/1, which is a return of £65, then tied for fourth, you have Spurs and Chelsea, both at 33/1, both returning £170 from the same bet.
So that’s going to be enough for this one, for those of us who watch MLS, what do you think of Duran? Given our options up front with Diaz and Salah mainly occupying the wings and with Jota, Nunez, Firmino and Carvalho rotating between center forward and occasionally the wings, would Duran fit right in? Would he get regular time or would he be one of those players we picked up and loaned back to give him the time he needed to grow?
Given what we’ve talked about today, I think it’s safe to say that he can definitely offer something to the team and with a lot of players leaving for the world cup and PROBABLY coming back fatigued, a move in January could be a pretty smart move. At the very least, he’s a player we could easily profit from if things don’t go as planned, as he’s quickly becoming a target that others are paying attention to! Until next time, take care Liverpool fans, we hope our luck improves a bit this season!
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