PSG’s attacking midfielder Javier Pastore is the latest player to have been linked with a move to Liverpool, with Jurgen Klopp exploring his attacking options.
After impressing during his time at Palermo, where he was once considered as one of Europe’s finest creative young talents, the Argentine joined PSG on a big money move in 2011.
He played a key role last season, scoring five goals and laying on a further eight assists in the league, as PSG won the league title at a canter. However, this season he has been scrapping for a first team place, having fallen behind £44m Angel di Maria in the pecking order at PSG.
He has made only 10 starts in Ligue 1, with injuries restricting his appearances throughout 2015/16 for Laurent Blanc’s side. His situation at PSG has sparked an interest from Liverpool ahead of the summer transfer window, with France Football reporting the Reds are working behind the scene to secure his signature.
Liverpool’s chief scout, Kevin Hunt, reportedly paid a visit to France last week, to watch both Pastore and 17-year-old centre-back Mamadou Doucoure, with the Argentine thought to be on the “short-list” of the Reds manager and whose “profile matches” the German’s philosophy.
Pastore is a versatile creative play maker who can shine in a number of positions on the attacking front. Primarily a central midfielder, the Argentine is equally adept at playing on both flanks.
He is a skilful player like Coutinho or Firmino and a joy to watch when on form and plays with freedom. The best part of his game is his terrific passing range. Usually he likes to play shorter passes and involve in the attacking build up, but has an eye for accurate long balls as well. He gets into a good attacking position and more often than not picks the right player; a total of 44 assists till date for PSG is a reflection of his attacking prowess.
Pastore is equally an attractive player with the ball at his feet, and his dribbling ability (1.7 on average) is only bettered by Coutinho (1.9 per game) at Liverpool.
PSG would be looking for a big fee for the midfielder, thought to be around €45m, which Liverpool probably would refuse to meet, but it could get interesting in the summer, should Pastore find the offer of regular first team football at Liverpool too appealing to reject outright.
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