Scouting Europe's Transfer Needs

Introduction

Two weeks ago we looked at calciomercato through an Italian lens, focusing on Juventus, Inter and Milan. This time we go international, picking three of the most talked-about transfer needs currently running through the market: Real Madrid's search for a defensive midfielder, and a shared problem for Liverpool and Tottenham, who are both hunting for attacking width on opposite flanks.

In each case, the club's first-choice target has either fallen through or remains unresolved. Real Madrid spent the summer pursuing Rodri, only for the Manchester City midfielder to indicate a preference for Barcelona. Tottenham have been trying to prise Cody Gakpo away from Liverpool, while Liverpool themselves are working through life without Mohamed Salah on the right flank. As with the Serie A edition, we used data to build alternative profiles regardless of how advanced or realistic each operation currently looks, searching across what we call the Top 9 leagues: the traditional top five (Premier League, LaLiga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1) plus Belgium, Portugal, the Netherlands and Turkey.

Because Tottenham and Liverpool's needs on the flanks overlap, rather than building three profiles for each club separately we identified six names in total: three left wingers compared against Gakpo, and three right wingers compared against Salah. The left-sided trio works both ways, as options for Tottenham if a Gakpo deal doesn't materialise, and as possible alternatives for Liverpool if Gakpo himself ends up leaving.

Registi and Metronomes: Alternatives to Rodri for Real Madrid

Real Madrid have been searching for a genuine No. 6 since Toni Kroos retired in the summer of 2024, a gap that widened further when Luka Modric left for Milan a year later. Rodri, fresh off being named MVP of the Club World Cup, looked like the closing piece this summer. Instead, the Spaniard appears to be heading to Barcelona.

Below are three profiles that share characteristics with Rodri and that Real Madrid could reasonably evaluate now that a deal for him looks unlikely. The same names could equally be relevant for Manchester City, who will need to plan Rodri's succession themselves.

Rodri operates as a build-up director: the player responsible for the first phase of possession, distribution, and progression through midfield. He's usually the focal point of his team's build-up and, often, the player with the most touches on the pitch.

Aleksandar Pavlović (Bayern Munich)

Pavlović is already performing at a level that would make him a significant outlay, likely upwards of €100 million if Real Madrid wanted to convince Bayern to sell. At 22, he would represent close to an ideal profile to take over Real Madrid's midfield. Compared to Rodri, his radar shows slightly lower expected assists on open play and progressive passing, but he compensates with sharper passing accuracy and a considerably higher volume of counter-pressures.

Hakan Çalhanoğlu (Inter)

Çalhanoğlu is a known quantity in Serie A, having been reshaped into a genuine deep-lying playmaker under Simone Inzaghi at Inter. Unlike Rodri, he offers a considerably higher goal contribution thanks to his set-piece quality on both penalties and free kicks. His expected assists numbers sit lower than Rodri's, but the remaining metrics on the radar track closely.

Angelo Stiller (VfB Stuttgart)

Stiller is the most disruptive of the three, with a game built more around ball-winning transitions than the other alternatives. He posts very high numbers for counter-pressures and progressive passing, though his long-ball accuracy trails Rodri's. He still holds excellent short-passing accuracy and a strong rate of passes into the final third.

Left Wingers: The Options for Tottenham and Liverpool

Tottenham are looking for a left winger and have been trying to sign Cody Gakpo from Liverpool. The Reds, for their part, have been exploring a move for Bradley Barcola of PSG. Roberto De Zerbi, speaking to Men in Blazers on 11 August, made clear that Tottenham's summer business isn't finished: "In the transfer market, we have not finished yet." Both negotiations, Gakpo and Barcola, are complex, so here are some more accessible and affordable alternatives for the left flank.

Andreas Schjelderup (Benfica)

The Norwegian, part of the Benfica squad since 2023, also made an impression at the World Cup with a goal and three assists. In his most recent season in Portugal he recorded seven goals and six assists in 28 appearances, adding two more goals in the Champions League. His radar shows exceptional expected threat numbers, both through passes and through ball carries, paired with a high expected assists output.

Antonio Nusa (RB Leipzig)

Another Norwegian talent, Nusa arrived at Leipzig with expectations of a clearer step forward than he has managed to show, which has stabilised his market value in the €30-35 million range. Like his compatriot Schjelderup, he posts strong expected threat numbers and an unusually high rate of successful dribbles per 90. He has been relatively quiet in front of goal, four goals and three assists in the Bundesliga across more than 2,000 minutes, but at 21 there is still considerable room to grow.

Kevin Schade (Brentford)

Schade arrives from the Premier League, where he recorded eight goals and four assists in 35 appearances last season. His finishing still has room to improve: with a non-penalty xG figure of around 12, he left enough chances behind to have reached double figures again, a mark he had already hit in 2024/25.

Right Wingers: Life After Salah at Liverpool

Liverpool are also working through the identification of a right winger capable of shouldering the legacy left by Mohamed Salah. Beyond already-established names such as Savinho (Manchester City) or Barcola (PSG), here are three younger profiles ready for the step up.

William Gomes (Porto)

The most intriguing name here is the Brazilian left-footed right winger, whose release clause at Porto sits at €80 million. He scored 12 goals across the Portuguese league and Europa League in around 1,700 minutes in his first European season, a return that makes the case for a significant investment.

Ernest Poku (Bayer Leverkusen)

Poku recorded five goals and five assists in the Bundesliga last season with Leverkusen. At around €30 million he's a more accessible profile, and one still on an upward trajectory. He looks for the dribble persistently and completes a high share of his attempts, though his shot volume remains lower than a proven finisher like Salah.

Jamie Leweling (VfB Stuttgart)

The most experienced of the three at 25, Leweling is coming off a strong season at Stuttgart, seven goals and eight assists in 30 Bundesliga appearances. His clearest asset is genuine two-footedness, which let him play across both flanks last season, 21 games on the left and 14 on the right, a versatility that would be valuable for a Liverpool side that may end up needing to replace both Salah and Gakpo.

Conclusion

Three different clubs, three needs that were expected to be resolved by a single, well-known name, and in each case a market that has moved in a different direction. Real Madrid's chase for a genuine successor to Kroos and Modric has run into Barcelona's interest in Rodri. Tottenham and Liverpool are both trying to solve a winger problem on opposite flanks, with the added complication that a Gakpo departure from Anfield would leave Liverpool needing cover on both sides at once. The alternatives outlined above range from realistic short-term fits to longer-term bets, and none of them changes the fact that all three clubs are still working through live situations as the window enters its final weeks.