When Liverpool sold Luis Suarez this summer, most of the Liverpudlians were eagerly waiting for the new signings to arrive. The Ulsterman signed Adam Lallana, Lazar Markovic and Ricky Lambert to replace him and in addition, Divock Origi will join the Reds next year. So obviously there is some excitement around Anfield as the players signed can light up the pitch in their own way. However, One player whom the Liverpudlians have somewhat forgotten about is Spaniard attacker Jesús Joaquín Fernández Sáez de la Torre aka “Suso”.
Suso made his debut on 20 September 2012 against Young Boys and featured in few Premier league games that year. Rodgers saw an obvious talent and decided to loan him to Almeria in the following season. Almeria’s manager Francisco Rodríguez usually stuck with a 4-2-3-1 formation with Suso as the right attacking midfielder. The system suited Suso perfectly as he often drifted inside to lay of some wonderful passes or shoot when he could. He scored 3 goals and provided 7 assists and was probably the best attacking player in a struggling Almeria side. He is back at Liverpool now and has had a good pre-season so far.
Suso’s prime candidates for the starting spot this season will be Raheem Sterling, Lazar Markovic and Adam lallana as all three of them can play on the right side. However, the biggest question is how he’ll suit into Rodgers’ preferred formation. Rodgers used more than one type of system last season which might work in Suso’s favour. In Suarez’s absence, Sturridge will definitely lead the line for Liverpool which means that there will be a void left on the right side where Sturridge was deployed previously. That’s the cue for Suso as he excelled in that position for Almeria. The 20-year old isn’t more direct like Raheem Sterling or Lazar Markovic who use the blistering pace and simply outrun their opponent, his game is more about sudden change in direction and the initial burst of pace, similar to Coutinho, in fact, his style is exactly like Coutinho with better finishing ability. The added advantage of playing Suso at the right side is the scenario of him cutting inside and shooting which he likes doing. The pre-season game against Preston showed what the youngster can do when played in that position.
If Rodgers decides to go with the diamond formation then it’ll be harder for Suso to make it into the team. To preserve the shape in the 4-1-2-1-2 system, Rodgers will have to play more natural midfielders in front of the holding midfielder, and it is likely that he’ll go with Joe Allen and Jordan Henderson. If he decides to buy another striker to partner Daniel Sturridge then it’ll leave only one position vacant – the role behind the strikers. Last season Rodgers utilized Coutinho and Sterling at the tip of the diamond, and this season the competition is only going to increase with Suso in the squad.
At the moment, another loan season might not be the best idea as Liverpool will play lot more games this season than last time, so Suso might just get an opportunity to shine for Liverpool.