I thought Trafford looked like a very good goalie in the making. Impossible to say how high he might get, but you have to back yourself.
If he does get the chance to come to Liverpool he should grab it with both hands.
Yes, he won’t have a hope of displacing Alisson - yet, but he will have looked at what we do and he will expect to play in the league cup, and at least a smattering of Prem games on top, given Alisson’s penchant for a calf injury here and there.
Then there is the age to factor in. Trafford is 21. He has to be thinking that by the time he is 24 he could be breathing down Alisson’s neck for the top spot, assuming Trafford develops further as a goalkeeper.
If he has a chance, it is a move he should make.
If he doesn’t quite crack it then he will find himself at the age Kelleher is now, with plenty of years ahead of him, as he moves on from life after Liverpool.
A rumour going around that we were after Mbumo from Brentford I hope it is true he is the perfect replacement for both Mane and Salah keep fingers crossed. he will not cost a lot as his contract ends in a year. This smells like a deal that Edwards would go for.
Mbuemo looks good and hardworking and maybe he has an upside to reach at least near to Salah level but he looks the kind who is more Diaz type, not necessarily the most clinical when finishing but scores enough and creates chances. Not sure Brentford will sell him cheaply though.
Mbuemo is a penalty taker when Toney isn’t playing which has inflated his goalscoring stats. He is a top 32% winger for goals scored and top 14% for expected goals (ie. He scored less than he was expected to compared to the chances he had).
But this ranking only works if we consider him a winger. I’d say he’s a forward who covers wide areas like Salah/Diaz etc for us. Vs other forwards he has below average xG and a 0.28% goals per game ration. Effectively he’s a 1 in 4 goalscorer.
He also has a low shots per game ratio, low shot on target % and low goals per shot %.
Another concern is that he doesn’t create chances in many ways. He’s a good passer and a clever footballer so he is very good at creating chances with passes but when it comes to other creative actions (such as dribbling) he’s very weak - meaning he is one dimensional.
So in all I think its fair to say hes someone who can’t finish. He routinely finishes under his xG, rarely gets into good positions for shots and when he does shoot he rarely hits the target. Compared to “wingers” his stats look better but that’s not really what he is on the pitch, often playing as part of a 2 man frontline or onbthe right of a 3 man attack.
Good passer, clever footballer, works hard but has severe limitations. Way too many for a top club to consider.
For what it’s worth I think it’s unlikely they’ll sell Mbeumo this summer when Toney is absolutely desperate to get off.
I could see him being someone we were interested in though. Despite Sweeting’s excellent post saying explaining why we shouldn’t be.
I guess he might want to stay at Mainz and knows that they won’t be able to pay that much, understable that he finally wants to settle somewhere tbf.
But it may be taken out of context, lost in translation or simply exaggerated, as it’s often the case when there are interviews with foreign media. Let’s wait and see.
