'Like an arse on a bucket!' - How Mario Gotze could fit in at Liverpool

goal.com

With the Bayern Munich attacker being heavily linked with a reunion with former Borussia Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp at Anfield, Goal looks at how the Reds might utilise him.

Following Henrikh Mkhitaryan's arrival at Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2013, then coach Jurgen Klopp declared in typically amusing and evocative fashion: "He fits us like an arse on a bucket. What he offers is exactly what we need."

Although he is remaining tight-lipped on the topic, Klopp is no doubt just as excited by the possibility of being reunited with former protege Mario Gotze at new club Liverpool this summer.

Mkhitaryan was actually signed as a replacement for Gotze but despite his initial enthusiasm, Klopp never developed the same kind of relationship with the Armenian. That was hardly surprising: Klopp had plucked Gotze from BVB's youth academy and turned him into a superstar. They share a special bond off the field. 

On the field, the current Liverpool boss initially utilised Gotze as a winger before moving him into a more central position behind star striker Robert Lewandowski following the departure of first-choice playmaker Shinji Kagawa to Manchester United in 2012. The youngster was also first used as a 'false nine' by Germany during his time at Signal Iduna Park.

This versatility has proved a disadvantage during his subsequent spell at Bayern Munich, with Gotze failing to nail down a regular berth in Pep Guardiola's starting line-up, but nobody knows better that Klopp how to get the very best out of the 23-year-old.

The most obvious option is to deploy Gotze in his favourite position. "Playing centrally in attacking midfield, the No.10 position, is where I'm best," he stated back in 2013. In Klopp's preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, that would mean Gotze playing just behind a central striker such as Daniel Sturridge and being flanked by Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino or Adam Lallana.

Gotze would relish the responsibility of being the fulcrum of Liverpool's attack, having served as little more than a utility man at Bayern. It would also allow him to get back to doing what he does best because while he has developed a keener eye for goal in Munich and bulked up significantly to cope better with the physicality of central defenders, he was a prolific assist-man during his Dortmund days.

Of course, given Gotze's experience working the flanks, he would also be ideally suited to playing in an attacking midfield position within the 4-3-2-1 formation Klopp often employs away from home. Indeed, one could easily imagine the Germany international linking superbly with the equally gifted and intelligent Coutinho, and providing Sturridge with a constant supply of quality through-balls.

There is also a chance that Klopp could elect to play with a 'false nine'. Firmino has excelled in this role this season and Gotze would doubtless savour playing behind the Brazilian. However, Gotze has also often played 'up front' for Germany, throwing up the possibility of the former Dortmund man and Firmino regularly swapping positions within such a fluid formation. "There are even several advantages to playing [a false nine] against a deep-lying opponent," Gotze has previously stated. "We change positions frequently and that creates confusion. We're not as easily marked."

And there's the rub: Gotze would add even more unpredictability to a Liverpool attack likely to be based on high pressing, quick movement and constant inter-changing. Indeed, Klopp has made no secret of the fact that he wants to build a squad capable of switching systems at will in order to handle different scenarios. In that sense, there is even a possibility of the former BVB boss fielding all of his very best attackers in the same line-up should Liverpool be in dire need of a goal.

So, while where Gotze plays is important, what is more important for him on a personal level, after his Munich misery, is that he plays regularly. Under Klopp, that seems a guarantee. The two, therefore, still seem made for one another because Gotze offers the versatility that Klopp craves. As the player himself once said, "I feel comfortable in every position." In other words, Gotze should thus fit Liverpool "like an arse on a bucket"!