Liverpool's busy summer of transfers continued on July 1st, with the announcement that Liverpool signs Nathaniel Clyne from Southampton on a long-term contract. Clyne, a right back, will help to shore up Liverpool's defenses, which clearly needed work during the 2014 2015 season.
At 24 years old, Nathaniel Clyne has been playing in the English football world since he was 17 years old. He made his senior career debut in October 2008 playing for Crystal Palace, and did four seasons with the club in the Football League Championship before making a move to Southampton in 2012. Now, after three seasons with the Saints, Clyne is on his way for (hopefully) bigger and better things with the Reds.
What Clyne Can Bring to the Table
So what will Nathaniel Clyne bring to the table next season when he dons the Liverpool home shirt 2015 2016 and takes the pitch at Anfield? Will he help the Reds recover from their sixth place 2014 2015 finish? Could he be a key cog in helping the club win their first top-flight English football title in 26 years?
Only time will tell, of course, but from looking at his stats, Nathaniel should fit nicely at Anfield. Though he is still young, Clyne is already quite experienced, having averaged 34 appearances per season (overall, including cup and continental play) throughout the seven years of his senior career.
Clyne has also been one of those defenders who can break away from the back of the pitch and score goals. He netted five points in his time at Southampton, including the inaugural goal of the soccer club's 2014 2015 season. The game in question, an August 17th fixture with Liverpool, was actually at Anfield, and while Southampton ultimately lost 1-2, the match certainly put Nathaniel on the radar of Reds fans.
Better defense and more goals are both things that Liverpool could use after the 2014 2015 season. The football club scored a total of 52 goals last season (49 fewer than their 2013 2014 run), while their "goals against" tally was 48. If they can increase the former statistic while decreasing the latter, then the Reds could potentially find their way back into the top three. It's promising players like Clyne that are going to get them there.
A Key Signing
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers was clearly quite intent on signing Clyne for the 2015 2016 season. The Reds initially offered Southampton a transfer fee of £10 million for the 24-year-old defender, but Southampton rejected the offer back in May.
Rodgers' persistence in signing Clyne shows that he sees something in the young full back that he couldn't get elsewhere. That fact should have fans excited to see Nathaniel in the Liverpool shirt next season-alongside a growing army of new transfers that also includes Roberto Firmino, James Milner, Danny Ings, Adam Bogdan, and Joe Gomez. Regardless of what happens at Anfield during the 2015 2016 campaign, rest assured that we are going to be seeing a very different Liverpool soccer squad than the one we saw last season.
The signing also proves that Rodgers is consistently keeping an eye on Southampton for new talent. Last summer, he signed three players from the Saints: Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert, and Dejan Lovren. Clyne makes four transfers from Southampton to Liverpool in the space of a year's time.
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