Liverpool 'linked' with £42m midfielder set to leave in 2025 who has elite passing statistics

Liverpool have been linked with a move for PSV Eindhoven midfielder Joey Veerman, who could leave next summer.

The 25-year-old is highly regarded in his own country and boasts some seriously impressive passing statistics that fall perfectly in line with what Arne Slot wants from his midfielders. He topped the assist chart in Europe’s top seven leagues with 16 in the Eredivisie and has been linked with a move away for a few seasons now.

It seems a question of when - not if - he will make a move into Europe’s top five leagues. Plus, it remains to be seen at what level he will fall into. The Eredivisie is much lower level overall than the Premier League, for example. Yet, according to Give Me Sport, Liverpool have set their sights on Veerman, who is expected to depart in 2025 for £42 million.

His excellent vision and passing ability is clearly his unique selling point. He sits in the highest percentiles possible for key passes, forward passes and progressive passes. Even in his side’s 3-1 defeat to Juventus in their opening Champions League game - in which he played just 62 minutes - he still managed three key passes and an 89% pass success rate. It stands to reason that those figures will remain high or improve further surrounded by better players with better movement, in a team with more possession and control despite the difficulty of the games becoming increased.

Featuring in a similar role to Alexis Mac Allister - based on his heatmaps - the pair played out an almost similar results on their all-round midfield metrics last season. Veerman had the edge on progressive passes, key passes, forward passes and duels percentage, but the Argentinian had a far better defensive actions and edged him in carrying.

When stepping up to the Euros this summer, Veerman played an average of just 35 minutes across six games, which never gave him a chance to find his feet. The Champions League, of course, will give him the chance to prove he can do it at that level, with games against Sporting, Paris Saint-Germain, Brest, Red Star Belgrade, Shakhtar and Girona all to come.

However, a final day clash with Liverpool will go a long way in proving to the club whether he could be a viable target for next summer. One game doesn’t make or break a potential deal but a strong performance could see him demand the respect of the club supposedly linked with buying him.