Sam McGuire: Liverpool can't sign antithesis of Trent Alexander-Arnold | OneFootball

There’s been a lot of Vanderson talk recently.

The Monaco man is the latest right-back to be tipped to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold.

For a while, it was Givairo Read. Jeremie Frimpong is regularly named as the favourite to succeed the No66 at Anfield. I tried and failed to get everyone aboard the Martim Fernandes train. His injury didn’t help the cause.

It still might be Frimpong, but it didn’t stop everyone going all in on Vanderson. According to L’Equipe, the 23-year-old is on Liverpool’s wishlist.

At a glance, he ticks a lot of boxes.

He’s a good age, for starters. He’s got good experience (120 games for Monaco across all competitions) and he’s played European football. The one-time Gremio youngster is also a Brazil international with five caps to his name.

In terms of numbers, his 60 attempted passes per 90 shows he’s used to seeing a lot of the ball from a full-back position. His pass success rate (76%) isn’t ideal but if he’s a creator who plays low probability football - like Alexander-Arnold - you can ignore it. The numbers, however, don’t suggest he is that guy, with an Expected Assists 90 of just 0.12.

He’s more of a ball carrier than a playmaker. This isn’t a huge issue but, ideally, you’d want a higher pass success rate if the player isn’t much of a risk taker.

Vanderson is a little confusing in possession though.

© WyScout

In the still above, he picks up possession. He’s pressured too but shows composure to move the ball onto his left foot, opening up the middle of the pitch.

© WyScout

He then plays a nice pass into the feet of his teammate, bypassing the press and getting Monaco into a good position, centrally.

But then there are countless examples of him rushing a pass, showing no composure at all. This creates turnovers. His passing can be a little erratic too. He’ll try something, something that someone who is better on the ball would successfully manage, but he’s not at the level required and the ball is loose, picked off and possession is wasted.

Finding a like-for-like replacement for Alexander-Arnold is impossible. But you can’t just ignore Vanderson’s use of the ball because he’s not at the level of the No66. Arne Slot wants his team to play out and be comfortable in possession. There’s more emphasis on being able to play football and this could expose him a little. You don’t want him sticking out like a sore thumb. If he’s a weak link, teams will exploit him.

As a defender, he’s quite aggressive and front footed. This is a blessing and a curse. He sometimes kills off threats with ease and gets Monaco on the attack. Other times, though, he’ll dive into a challenge and lose out, opening up space for the opposition to attack.

In the Brazil game against Colombia, he seemed to struggle against Luis Diaz. He struggled in general to be fair, completing just 60% of his attempted passes, winning none of his tackles and only 50% of his duels.

His injury record is fairly clean with the exception of a few knee injuries and a hip issue, but nothing serious.

Vanderson is repped by the same agency as Bruno Guimaraes and Matheus Cunha. If there’s genuine interest in the latter, maybe there could be a deal to be done for the Monaco man, especially as we know Michael Edwards likes to stick with certain agencies when recruiting.

As a right-back option though, I’m not sure he should be top of the Liverpool wishlist. His strengths don’t make up for the weaknesses.