The pressing monster Laimer who could change Manchester United
Laimer has a great natural gift
Konrad knows how to take balls away naturally, you can’t teach that. Two years ago he turned out to be the most avid presser in the Champions League. He beat Coquet and Saul of Atletico, slipped above the diligent in high tackling Muller and Di Maria. Leipzig’s Austrian was higher than Inter’s Brozovic in terms of pressing attempts. Leimer was spotted, but decided to test it from distance.
“Pressing machine” is what he is often called. Leimer does not use interceptions as his main weapon, does not take risks, and in Leipzig’s 4-1-2-1-2 scheme was located in the supporting zone. Now in the top five, taking into account the Eurocup matches of the grandees, only 9% of the players have a higher number of fouls won. It is worth immediately noting that Konrad has only 684 minutes in the Bundesliga specifically in the supporting zone, as he often played three center backs.
Then Laimer was one of the midfielders, but this experience is also useful. When necessary, Konrad will pick up the ball in the depths. And if circumstances allow – the attacking nature manifests itself. The successes of Nkunku, Soboslai and Andre Silva are tied to the way Laimer worked in depth. Leipzig had a tough stretch – hence the invitation of the former Spartak coach – but the team has risen. And Conrad has attracted interest from Bayern and MJ.
Munich let Tolisso go and gave Roca to Leeds for 12 million euros. Manchester City have been looking for the right midfielder for years, with Pogba gone and Fred not becoming the leader for the championship push. Interested in de Jong – expensive, Eriksen – works higher and can tactically clash with Bruno Fernandes, and Limer. Conrad is very versatile, and he’s the best one-to-one on the roster. In the APL, where high pressing is needed – MS and Liverpool are leaders in its intensity, and MJ is in 12th place – Conrad will definitely come in handy.
A graduate of the tough Salzburg school
Red Bull Salzburg used to be called Austria and Casino, and Leo Liner was a legend of the club. He won the national championship eight times, although not always in the same team. He didn’t make a coach, but Leopold became a scout at the renamed Red Bull Salzburg in 2006. There was no Rangnick then, Ralph would come as athletic director six years later. But Leo brought his son Stefan to the school. It was there that the younger Liner met Lymer.
The boys became friends, even though Conrad is almost five years younger. They still keep in touch, because they ended up playing for Salzburg together. Liner had to earn that right after a series of rentals and appearances for other teams. But Konrad only ran for a little bit for the Salzburg far club, and established himself in the base since the age of seventeen, as well as Upamekano. The coaches liked Laimer, he had a passing game, saw the field perfectly. The resilient player worked for the team, coolly took balls away, pressed.
The tactical intelligence of the midfielder matched his position – “eight”, from goal to goal. Konrad was brave and mature beyond his years as a midfielder. He played in the short pass, aggressively met opponents in the Austrian league, could work both left and right in the center of midfield. The right-handed passer mostly passed with his left hand, he had his arsenal since his youth, he used to roll the ball with his foot behind his back to his partner, he had no problems with kicks.
Konrad became Austrian champion three times in a row. And when he was named the best player in his home league at the age of twenty, he was transferred to the main club of the franchise – Leipzig. Initially Limer was seen as a stand-in for the future Liverpool player Keith, but he decided not to sit on the bench and found himself in the position of a friend of Liner – on the right in defense. And later he moved to the center of the field, where he performs now. A kind of Kimmich from Austria.
Nagelsmann’s favorite for Bayern
Laimer is so defiantly forward, waving his arms like a young Messi, that one can imagine him not only at Bayern. “Leipzig in the face of Tedesco does not want to strengthen the already powerful German champion, so the parting with Konrad is delayed. They are waiting for him to come from the APL, so the Austrian does not go to the rival for a penny – about 20 million euros. That said, Nagelsmann, who has worked with the midfielder, wants to get him for the club from Munich.
Laimer would add something to Bayern that is missing – competent work in the supporting area without the ball. Kimmich got into attacking shamanism. Goretzka has added muscle, but back at Schalke in his youth, Leon showed that he was not a born destroyer. The lineman is much better at handling opponents when they attack the Leipzig goal. Of course, in front of the scouts is not a new Busquets, not a second Kante, but a man who is ready to link the lines, give the volume of passes, open up, defend and attack.
Austrian could be a good fit for United
Ten Hague is calling for compatriots. Or at least former Ajax players like Eriksen. But just as Christian duplicates Fernandes, so de Jong and Laimer could have a conflict for time on the field if Frankie is signed alongside Conrad. But Barcelona demands a lot of money, the transfer of the Austrian is financially more profitable. Will the Leipzig player be up to the level of MJ?
It is hard to say, the bar of getting into the club’s starting lineup has dropped noticeably. One thing is for sure – Lymer is more similar to Keane, Scholes and Carrick in terms of his playing qualities than Pogba and Fred. Rangnick knows Konrad’s abilities, that’s why he put him on the scouting lists for sure. And in this case has only made the player worse, because it is unlikely that the employees of MJ trusted Ralph.
But the blond from Leipzig had a cool season in Germany. Not a superstar like Alaba yet, but growing. Talks about courage, agility and the ability to play on the ball, taking it away from the opponent of any level, about Limer have been going on for years. No longer repeating the mistakes of Prokop, Lovric and Horvat, talents from Austrian clubs of his generation whose careers were less successful.
Laimer is not a pure destroyer, but such a player Ten Hague probably needs even more. Of course, in a perfect world, MJ could have gotten the wild Tchouameni. Get him and regret spending 100 million euros, as happened in the case of Pogba. Ronaldo’s team will only play in the LE. Even Limer, if he is persistently called by the familiar Nagelsmann to the champion Bayern, it will be difficult to refuse.
It all depends on ten Hag’s ability to convince in a personal conversation. Is the king of the press, who plays without brutality, better to choose the basis in the troubled United, and change the team for the better, than to become a humble co-creator of the next Bayern championship? The answer should come from Laimer himself, who excels at passing into the penalty area – he sees the field wonderfully, not only is he good at tackling.
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