He's the one, Liverpool have found their perfect midfielder

Liverpool have found the perfect midfielder for Andoni Iraola.

Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards will definitely be targeting midfield arrivals this summer. It's simply inevitable.

With the future of Curtis Jones up in the air and Alexis Mac Allister being available or at least tentatively on the market, it means the club are thinking about reinforcements.

The reality is that since Fabinho left the club, the Reds haven't really found a proper no.6 either. Ryan Gravenberch has done well in the role but he's not a sitting midfielder.

He's not like Fabinho, who used to protect the back-four with such proficiency and who was also very adept at bringing the ball out from the back with clever line-breaking passes.

Liverpool will need to prioritise signing a midfielder of Fabinho's ilk sooner rather than later. Andon Iraola's style of play does require a destroyer in the middle of the park, who sweeps up and prevents danger whenever the opposition team try to gain an advantage.

But if Jones and Mac Allister both depart, Liverpool will also need to bring in a young and versatile midfielder. Someone who can play in a number of roles across midfield and who has the potential to be elite.

Well, there is an obvious name for that role.

The World Cup has helped Liverpool find their perfect midfielder in Johan Manzambi.

The Swiss international has only started one game at the tournament, yet he has scored three goals and even registered an assist.

Despite this, Manzambi is a midfielder. He can play as a no.8 and no.10, playing box-to-box and attacking midfield roles. However, at times he has even played a little deeper as a holding midfielder.

Born in October 2005, he's still only 20-years-old and this World Cup is definitely his break-out moment, even though he has been very good at Freiburg throughout the Bundesliga and Europa League season.

Manzambi is so technical, he thrives receiving the ball with his back to goal and he's very physically imposing for a player of his age. The way he covers so much ground in and out of possession makes him tailor-made for Iraola's high intensity system.

Now, his price tag is going to sky rocket after this tournament, it would be a huge surprise if it didn't. However, that should not deter Liverpool.

Because at the end of the day, Manzambi is not going to cost as much as the likes of Elliot Anderson, Alex Scott and Adam Wharton, who have price tags ranging from £80-120m.

In this market, Manzambi could still prove to be a bargain. At 20-years-old, he already has the raw ingredients to succeed in Iraola's system.

But the best thing about him is that he can be whoever he wants to be. Manzambi is so like a piece of clay that Iraola can fashion into whatever shape he wants.

The Swiss international has an incredibly high IQ for a player of his age. His ability to break into the box and find himself in goal-scoring situations is a massive strength of his game, but he also had good awareness and positional sense across the pitch.

He's just the perfect option. Let's admit it, Manzambi is the perfect midfielder for Liverpool. He has been found. But now the Reds just need to go out there and bring him to Anfield.

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