Benedikt Höwedes

Alternatives to Virgil van Dijk – Part 1

Introduction: From a recruitment point-of-view, a sporting director must always have a deeply scouted list of alternative transfer targets, to not only maintain the club’s footballing philosophy, but to ensure that high quality talent is secured at an excellent value for whatever roles and weaknesses the coaching staff want to improve. With the controversy over...

Joel Matip: Liverpool’s New Man – The View From Bundesliga

The rumours that Joel Matip would team up with former rival Borussia Dortmund head coach Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool began soon after the German arrived in Merseyside. The Cameroonian boasts many attributes that match seamlessly with the Premier League’s style, and Liverpool’s growing style under Klopp. Matip’s play was developed in many different ways in...

Scouting the Bundesliga: Defenders for Klopp

“The first thing you need, maybe in life, is a stable defence.” He said, enthralling the world’s Red collective. “Because you can only stay confident in a game when you know not each offensive move of the other team is a goal. That's the first thing and when you start a development nobody starts a...