Liverpool scouts will be following one ‘extraordinary’ player very closely at Anfield tonight. He could even have his ‘Darwin Nunez moment.’
Facing Atalanta in the Europa League quarter-finals tonight is not a foregone conclusion for Liverpool. The Italian side are a dangerous team, and Klopp has warned about how well organised they are.
In the last round of the competition, Atalanta caused Ruben Amorim’s Sporting CP plenty of problems and ultimately knocked them out of the competition.
They will also be looking to cause an upset at Anfield tonight, where they will feel confident of getting a result. Particularly, since they won the last time they visited the stadium back in 2020.
That was in the Champions League group-stages with Atalanta running out 2-0 winners on the night in a forgettable evening for Klopp’s side.
This time around things will be different. There will be people in attendance for one, which wasn’t allowed last time due to Covid-19 restrictions. And that could include scouts from Liverpool.
Why Liverpool scouts will be watching Teun Koopmeiners tonight
Liverpool scouts have been following the progress of Teun Koopmeiners for some time now.
The club has monitored the Dutchman ever since he made the move to Atalanta and even before that while he was at AZ Alkmaar.
This season, he is in the form of his life and has already made 17 goal contributions in all competitions for the club.
Playing at Anfield will be a huge opportunity for Koopmeiners. In recent years, we have seen the likes of Takumi Minamino, Luis Diaz or Darwin Nunez catch the eye against Liverpool in Europe before making a move to the Reds.
Tonight could very well be Koopmeiners own moment in the spotlight and the scouts will be watching.
Why Koopmeiners is an ‘extraordinary’ player
The Dutchman is a very unique player with great technical ability. He can play in multiple roles in midfield. He’s equally as effective in all of those roles as well.
Koopmeiners can sit deep and control the midfield from a holding midfield role in very Xabi Alonso esque fashion.
But he can also push forward and play as a number ten, providing goal contributions in the final third.
This alone makes him a very attractive prospect, who is reportedly valued at around £60m [Tutto Atalanta]. It’s also no surprise he has been called ‘extraordinary’ by former Atalanta favourite Domenico Progna [Tuttomercatoweb].