When Liverpool signed Iago Aspas this summer, it was quite questionable how quickly, if at all, the Spanish forward will find himself in the lineup. Closer and closer to the Premier League kick off, and things are looking better and brighter for him and his prospects.
Obviously, all of this has a lot to do with Luis Suarez. Liverpool aren’t letting him go, and unless a bid of £50 million comes along, Suarez, depressed and angry as he may be, isn’t going anywhere. But beginning preseason later than others, not to mention an attitude that might hurt him and the team on the pitch, Aspas probably has the upper hand with less than three weeks to go before the opening match of the season.
Aspas is yet another forward who can play as a striker but also lineup on the wide left. It seems that Brendan Rodgers is in love with this type, as Daniel Sturridge, Luis Suarez (brought in before Rodgers) and Luis Alberto all share the same DNA in terms of playing style, more or less. There’s also Fabio Borini, finally injury-free, hoping that his strong summer with the U-21 Italian team can mean he be a meaningful part of the Liverpool side next season. He’s more of a centralized striker who doesn’t really fit on the wings, making him somewhat of the odd man out in terms of versatility and style.
Aspas has impressed, but it was against opposition that’s not really posing any sort of challenge. To say he will do well for Liverpool is basing it on only one season in the Spanish La Liga (the rest were in the second division), in which he scored 12 goals. If Sturridge is on form, and Suarez gets out of the funk he’s in, these goals won’t matter so much as Aspas will be expected to contribute in a different way, but it’ll probably be quite an adjustment for him, regardless of his role.
At the beginning it has been a little tougher than the sessions in Spain, but we know there is a little more running involved in this league. However, we do a lot of work with the ball and I think in that respect the sessions are very similar to back in Spain.
It’s quite crowded in the Liverpool attack at the moment, be it in somewhat of a 4-3-3 or 4-1-3-2. Philippe Coutinho is guaranteed a spot on the left side which always ends up dragging to the middle, and Liverpool can’t play with four players who don’t have a lot to do with defense. Stewart Downing , despite all of the criticism over the last few seasons, is still a valuable asset on the right wing, which means quite a few someones expecting to start will be sitting on the bench.
The problem with not having a European campaign is the inability to work rotations out and give some frustrated players playing time. Brendan Rodgers’ biggest mission this season is about keeping his endless list of attacking midfielders and forwards happy, having the deep squadron he always wanted. Just how much Iago Aspas will be involved in all of that remains to be seen, but it’s directly connected to how well Luis Suarez manages to pick himself up from the disappointment of not leaving the club, for now.