With the departure of Philippe Coutinho – when football lurched into a new realm dominated by the needs of a multi-national sportswear company rather than those of a football team – many Reds fans are adamant we need to add another attacking player before the window closes.

Two names on the current transfer gossip grapevine are players who are both plying their trade in France at Monaco and Bordeaux: Thomas Lemar, who was linked with Liverpool in the summer – and Malcom Filipe Silva de Oliveira, who is known in the football world simply as “Malcom”. Now, forgive me for starting on a negative but with such a wonderfully exotic name, Malcom is the one that would be reserved only for my passport, not the back of my shirt. The name Malcom reminds me of a butcher in the local market … for local people. Each to their own name though.

Having two players from the same league, who according to Who Scored can play in any position behind a central striker, suggests Liverpool are more concerned by adding depth to cover Salah and Mane rather than boost the midfield number eight slots that Coutinho had often played in this season.

The rest of this article is for subscribers only, and includes: 

• Comparing both players’ expected goal contributions this season
• What are their key strengths 
• Projected value based on the market, and competition for their signature 
• A video analysis of their best actions this season

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