Liverpool agreed to sign Leverkusen wonder kid Emre Can on June 5th with him officially joining a month later, Brendan Rodgers promised big things from the German Under-21 international but the transfer came under scrutiny due to Can not being a well-known name.
Brendan Rodgers himself called the 20-year old an inspirational talent and gave the midfielder twenty minutes in a red shirt before being taken off due to injury on Saturday against Preston North End but within those twenty minutes he strutted his stuff all over the Deepdale pitch, he played well enough to be likened to players such as Zinedine Zidane and the German great Michael Ballack due to his versatility and ability to get forward and attack or track back and defend.
He was also substituted on quite early in the friendly against Italian side AS Roma after Fabio Borini picked up a heavy shoulder injury, in this game Can would time and time again show his great variety of qualities by constantly wandering off on runs and taking on two or three players at a time then to make perfectly placed passes around the pitch and showing off his fantastic agility on the ball with the Roma players struggling to keep up with him.
But who is Emre Can and what has he done so far in his short career? Well the midfielder has already shone in the Champions League playing seven out of Leverkusen’s eight games last term, notably putting in a great performance against Manchester United and last season made an impressive 39 appearances for Bayer Leverkusen after his move from Bayern Munich.
Can has an unbelievable ability to dribble past and take on players. Out of the top 5 leagues last season only two more players under the age of 21 completed more dribbles on average (2.5 per game) than our new number 23.
Although rather tall and relatively strong the eccentric midfielder is quick on his feet and possesses the ability to make a good strong tackle; his 60 successful tackles last season was the second-highest in the Bundesliga for players under the age of 21. Can is also great without the ball and has fantastic positioning around the pitch.
If needed the German can play in multiple positions, anywhere ranging from attacking midfield to defending midfield, centre half and even left-back! Although it is believed that he was bought for the purpose of playing defensive midfield having the option to move him around will always come good when the squad is thin.
It is likely that Rodgers may have signed Can seeing him as a long-term replacement for veteran Steven Gerrard, who at 34 has just retired from the England international side, in a deep-lying playmaker role pulling the strings to the Liverpool team. If that is the case and Can showcases his ability then the reported £9.5million price tag may be viewed upon as a real bargain in a few years time and if all fails we still have his perfect hair-beard combination to stare at during dull times.
