Who is Khephren Thuram? The Nice youngster to bolster Liverpool's midfield

 

As Liverpool gear up to make a monster effort to strengthen in midfield this summer, there is no shortage of youngsters the Reds could target in the off season. Ryan Gravenberch has been mooted with a move to Anfield as a Jude Bellingham alternative, but it's important Liverpool don't settle on just one target. 

 

Even if Gravenberch does join, the Dutchman can't be the only central midfielder Liverpool bring in this summer with a revamp in the middle of the park of the utmost importance if they are to to re-establish themselves as the best in England. Jurgen Klopp's side seem to be in the hunt for young central midfielders with a bit to moulding them to play the Liverpool way, with Nice youngster Khephren Thuram emerging as a potential target for the Reds according to the Independent. 

 

The 22-year-old recently won his first international cap to continue his rise to prominence having shone for Nice this season. Les Aiglons may sit ninth heading into the weekend's Ligue 1 action, but this sub-par season hasn't dented Thuram's growing reputation. With two years left to run on his current deal in France, the youngster is at something of a crossroads in his career. Nice may have given him his chance to shine, yet as impressive as Thuram has performed, he'll be aware that he needs to take the next big step in his career to aid his development. 

 

In terms of style of play, Thuram isn't too dissimilar to Bellingham and Gravenberch. At 6ft 3in, Thuram is a shade taller than the latter, and when he gains a head of steam, he is difficult to stop. One of his statistically calculated WhoScored strengths is 'dribbling' and for good reason when you consider a 65.5% dribble success rate in Ligue 1 this season, that ranking 18th of the 167 players to have attempted 25 or more dribbles in France's top tier at the time of writing. 

 

It's no surprise that Thuram is considered the one to bridge the gap between defence and attack for Nice, with the Frenchman prepared to drop deep and collect the ball from the backline, before turning and driving the team upfield. Liverpool may have this player in Thiago, but his injury issues have restricted the Spaniard to just 14 league starts this season and at 32 years of age, they do need to think of life beyond the former Barcelona and Bayern dribble machine. 

 

As is clear by links with move to Bellingham and Gravenberch, Liverpool are in the market for a ball-carrying midfielder this summer, and Thuram, while not quite the household name as the former, evidently fits the bill when considering links with a summer switch. What does stand out, too, is that Thuram is prepared to create for teammates when he does play his part in turning defence into attack. A return of 1.2 key passes per 90 is a solid return for Thuram, particularly for a Nice side that has endured their goal woes this season. 

 

 

Nice's return of 38 league goals scored is actually lower than relegation-threatened Strasbourg (41) and Troyes (39), and they have developed a statistically calculated WhoScored weakness of 'finishing scoring chances'. That, though, is hardly down to Thuram's ability to create for teammates, and he is a key reason behind Nice's development of a WhoScored strength of 'creating chances through individidual skill'. 

 

While Liverpool primarily create chances through the wingers and full-backs, an additional ball carrier who is able to play a final pass for teammates will certainly benefit the Reds, and ease the burden on needing to get the ball wide to provide the ammunition for the forwards. Crucially for a player in his role is that Thuram is an able ball winner, noted in that he averages a notable 1.9 tackles per 90 in Ligue 1 this season. 

 

That he is being dribbled past 0.8 times per 90 doesn't look great on paper, with Thuram returning a tackle success rate of 70.1% in the process, when compared to Liverpool's current central midfielders, it makes for much better reading. Thiago is being dribbled past just 0.6 times per 90, but again cannot be relied upon given his injury history, but compared with Fabinho (1.3) and Jordan Henderson (0.7), Liverpool's most-used midfield trio this season, and Thuram would fit right in, at least statistically. 

 

The links with Bellingham, Gravenberch and now Thuram, though, shows that there are a number of specific young midfielders that the Reds can target. Fabinho is the youngest of Liverpool's aforementioned midfield trio, so it makes sense to build around the Brazilian rather than seek to replace the former Monaco man this summer, whereas Thiago and Henderson are now both the wrong side of 30. 

 

He may not have been high on wishlists when it was clear that Liverpool would not pursue Bellingham, but Thuram could, like Gravenberch, prove a cost effective alternative with a high ceiling that would improve Liverpool's midfield.

Who is Khephren Thuram? The Nice youngster to bolster Liverpool's midfield