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March is known to be the month certain things happen at Liverpool under Jürgen Klopp. Unfortunately, one of them is usually that the Reds suffer a mini-dip in form, which is now repeating itself to the shock of many given the exploits of the season. The other is that Klopp, Michael Edwards and Mike Gordon solidify and finalise their transfer plans for the following campaign.

That list will make for fascinating reading as a result of what is turning out to be a strange season in many respects. The Reds are leading the way in the Premier League which will now surely result in a nineteenth title at Anfield, yet the room for improvement has been driven home in recent weeks, particularly in certain areas of the pitch which have looked dangerously exposed.

What Klopp knows about his players will be reinforced massively, and there can be no doubt he has a question mark around advanced midfield areas. And while the majority of transfer links remain attributed to Timo Werner of Red Bull Leipzig, there is another Bundesliga star who may now be a bigger priority for the transfer committee when the transfer window next opens.

Kai Havertz's name continues to gather pace across the European landscape as a midfielder who is in high demand. The German star has once again impressed for Bayer Leverkusen this season, netting five league goals and providing four assists. It is the positioning of the midfielder and the areas he has constantly manoeuvred himself into to becoming a prime attacking threat which make him so attractive, and offer an interesting comparison to one of the current Liverpool squad members fulfilling a similar role.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has had a funny season. The midfielder is still in rehabilitation from the horrendous injury suffered in April 2018 against AS Roma in the Champions League. At times, the number 15 can look like a world-beater able to rip apart all manner of defences and pop up with crucial strikes such as the one witnessed in Genk this season.

Yet when compared to Havertz, it is the German who comes out on top on certain statistics such as goals per 90 minutes (0.32 to 0.13), expected goals (0.26 to 0.16) and xG buildup (0.37 to 0.31). Chamberlain still leads per 90' on things like dribbles (3.85 to 1.80), pressures (23.95 to 20.19) and deep progressions (5.99 to 5.40) when comparing the two's Champions League form.

Havertz isn't afraid to take up advanced central attacking positions, and while Klopp wouldn't want him to stifle the spaces Roberto Firmino operates in, he would be the type of player who looks as though he would only require minor tweaks to his game to adapt to how the Reds play both in attacking and defensive situations.

Klopp has not been able to fully call on either Chamberlain or Naby Keita to give him what he needs this season. The midfielder's have both struggled for consistency and at a time when Liverpool clearly need variance in attack. It may be then that Klopp looks to finally buck a recurring season trend with the signing of someone like Havertz this summer.