After notching his third assist in five games for Liverpool, Lucas Leiva has explained how Jurgen Klopp is working to add to his skill-set.
The Brazilian’s superb lofted ball provided Emre Can with the perfect setup for his Goal of the Season contender in Monday’s 1-0 win away to Watford.
Incredibly, Lucas has now laid on as many goals in his past five Premier League outings as he did in his previous 163.
Given he has largely been operating at either centre-back or in a holding midfield role, this is an impressive feat for Liverpool’s longest-serving player.
And ahead of a summer that is set to herald more questions about his future, Lucas believes he is adding more strings to his bow working with Klopp.
“We have worked a lot on movement in training,” he explained of his duty in midfield.
“I’m trying to improve and add [assists] to my game and hopefully next will come goals.
“But I know what the manager wants from me and he wants me to improve on assists, and I think I’ve been doing well on assists, so that’s quite good.”
Lucas has always been deceptively bright in possession, but his output in the final third has clearly been lacking, with seven goals and 21 assists in 343 appearances for the Reds.
Turkish Super Lig side Galatasaray have been tentatively linked with a move for the 30-year-old ahead of the summer transfer window, but Lucas is believed to prefer to stay in England.
And one way to do so would be to convince Klopp of his ability to operate in a more expansive role, with assists tangible proof of that.
Before the transfer window, however, there is the small matter of sealing a top-four finish, and Lucas has stressed that the final three games of the season should be treated as finals.
“[Monday was] another big result for us away from home against a very difficult and physical team with quality players,” he said.
“And especially after the weekend when other teams dropped points, it’s in our hands now really.
“We needed to win, especially after our last game against Crystal Palace.
“We are happy and I think we deserved it even though at the end we needed a bit of luck, but overall, it’s a well-deserved three points.
“The three games we have left now are all finals and hopefully we can get the victories to secure the Champions League spot.”
These could feasibly be Lucas’ last games in a Liverpool shirt, but if he continues to impress in the final third, Klopp may stand in the way of a move once again this summer.
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