Loan watch: Promising Liverpool youngster proving his worth at Groningen

Krisztian Adorjan

Yet to make an appearance for Liverpool, 21-year-old midfielder Krisztian Adorjan is spending the season with Dutch side FC Groningen.

In doing so, he is aiming to emulate Luis Suarez’s successful spell with the Dutch side, hoping to then follow the Uruguayan’s path into the Liverpool line up. Adorjan has started his loan spell strongly. The Hungarian has scored two goals in four appearances, playing from the right wing in a 4-3-3 formation.

Groningen have the option to buy 20-year-old Adorjan at the end of this loan spell. However, the Budapest-born winger currently remains coy on the prospect of making his move permanent – hinting he still harbours hope of breaking into the first team at Liverpool.

The Hungarian has made a significant impact in his four appearances, contributing two goals from nine shots over the 226 minutes that he has spent on the pitch. This means that he takes a shot on goal every 25 minutes, scoring a little under a goal a game. Such form has been replicated at under-21 international level, where Adorjan has three goals in five appearances for Hungary.

As well as his goal threat, Adorjan has also fared well in possession. He has made 77% of his passes, marginally below the team average of 79 – to be expected for a winger, including one key pass. His passing has included a number of long balls, shown on the graph above as purple, as he looks to play the early ball forward from wide and deep areas.

On his way to collecting a performance score of 107, Adorjan’s most impressive performance came in his side’s 4-1 victory over RKC. A man of the match performance, including one goal, saw him score a performance rating of 86. He scored once from four attempts, and made an impressive 86% of his passes

His pass map from that game again shows his eagerness to quickly move the ball forward, with the majority of his passes going forward, and many going long.

Having experienced a good start to his Groningen career – a red card against Go Ahead Eagles the only blemish – Adorjan will be impressing his Anfield bosses. However he will need to continue his form to even be considered for a return to Anfield. The Hungarian has started well, but whether he is good enough to continue Suarez’s Groningen-to-Liverpool path remains to be seen.