Intro:

As this is my first post in any form of blog I feel I should start off by outlining that I am no expert in football analysis, just a fan who wants to have an excuse to talk about the sport she loves. I thought I would take a stab at blogging about the sport since I tend to waffle away to anyone in work who is willing to listen and engage in a discussion. I feel like a blog may be more productive than talking the ear off of staff and customers alike.
With that off my chest, let’s talk Kennet Eichhorn, the new big thing pulling interest from all the heavy hitters in the Bundesliga as well as Manchester City and my beloved Liverpool as reported in the media by the likes of Florian Plettenberg of Sky Sports Germany. “Liverpool presented him with a clear career plan – just like many other cubs did. LFC want to sign him now and then loan him out for 1-2 years to a club ideally playing in the Champions League.” (https://x.com/Plettigoal/status/2059007987184722386)
I will be comparing Eichhorn to Adam Wharton in the Premier League this year as he is highly sought after by the big English sides with Palace looking to earn a major payment package for the 22 year old holding mid, Stefan Bajcetic on his loan to Las Palmas as our current holding midfield “project” and the levels we could expect if his fitness is better managed, as well as 19/20 Premier League winning season Fabinho who may feel like a harsh comparison however I feel it is valid.

Comparisons: Wharton

My primary source of statistical data in all comparisons made for this post are taken from well known sporting statistic site “Sofascore”, the site features a helpful tool to compare two individuals.
In the pair’s respective league campaigns they averaged match ratings of 7.06 (Wharton) and 6.73 (Eichhorn) with Wharton featuring in 34 league games for Crystal Palace and Eichhorn featuring in 17 for Hertha Berlin this season, Wharton on average played 75 minutes per game to Eichhorn’s 68 minutes though I suspect Eichhorn’s numbers would be a fair bit higher had he not been sidelined for 9 games with an ankle injury. Neither of the pair has shown much of a threat to their opposing goalkeepers this season as they are primarily defensive minded midfielders though both did manage a goal while slightly underperforming their xG stats of 1.52(W) and 1.36(E).
The numbers become much more interesting when we move into passing metrics, Wharton does excel over Eichhorn at this point with the stats as I’m about to list all favouring the Englishman: Assists 5-0; ApG 0.1-0 (not exactly a big difference I know); xA 7.38-0.35; Big Chances created 14-1; Long passes 2.0-1.0 (48.2%-56.7%). The long pass success rate being in favour of the German could just be a facet of the lower level of play in his nation’s second tier however the league is known to be a physical challenge for younger players, should this success carry to the Premier League with wingers like Rio Ngumoha and potentially Yan Diomande or Bradley Barcola running rampant the results could be quite frightening.
In the defensive metrics Eichhorn starts to put up more of a fight statistically with better interceptions, shots blocked and less dribbles passing him though Wharton is better with tackles and clearances, with a few more seasons of professional football under his belt this could become dominated by the gangly German as he fills out his frame with a bit more muscle. Watching a highlight reel of Eichhorn posted to the Bundesliga YouTube channel, he seemed not to fear making a challenge or even taking them from opponents. He does lack a bit of bulk which would likely be needed for the intensity of the English game.
When it comes to retaining possession the numbers clearly favour the 2009 born gem, dribble success for Eichhorn sitting at 60.7% averaging a dribble per game to Wharton’s 0.4 dribbles (51.7%), Eichhorn averages the same amount of ground duels won as Wharton in a game but with a slightly better success rate, his aerial success rate holds a similar gap to Wharton’s as their dribble success rates, the German loses possession less (6.9-11.7 lost) only gives up an extra foul in across every 5 games on average and both are fouled just as often.
The one area of concern may be their discipline: Wharton 4 yellow cards, 1 yellow-red, 1 red; Eichhorn 7 yellow cards, 1 red. While I called this an area of concern it is quite realistically they are both under the age of 23, it is possible that their disciplinary records will improve as they continue to ply their trade. Mistakes, however, are human nature so I wouldn’t be too worried unless they start pulling Pepe-Ramos or Xhaka at Arsenal amounts of red cards.

Comparisons: Bajcetic

Stefan Bajcetic has unfortunately not really been able to make a name for himself due to consistent injuries culminating in his surgical absence since 14/05/25 which led to a 323 day stint on the sidelines as he returned to training last month on 01/04/26. Sadly his Las Palmas stint did end somewhat prematurely due to this setback for the Spanish midfielder who managed an average of 70 minutes with a rating of 6.72 per match across 14 matches. Once again neither of the players threatened the goal but Eichhorn shows more willingness to take the odd potshot than his Spanish counterpart.
Once again the passing numbers are a little strange from Bajcetic who loses out to Eichhorn on xA and Big Chances created while neither managed an assist or registered any crosses, the bizarre part is the long passing, 2.0 – 1.0 looks like a win over the German for Bajcetic as it did for Wharton yet once again the success rate tells a different story with a poor 38.9% of Bajcetic’s long passes reaching a teammate compared to the previously mentioned 56.7% rate of Eichhorn’s efforts.
Defensively there is once again a bit of a toss-up as Bajcetic does technically take the win by small metrics though he never blocked a shot and is more prone to being beaten by dribbles than Eichhorn. The same can be said in the Bajcetic – Eichhorn and Wharton – Eichhorn similarities in ball retention, once again Eichhorn is much less likely to lose the ball and a fair bit more likely to succeed at a dribble than his opposite. Bajcetic does hold up better on the duels however he is more known for his physicality than Wharton is, he is also more likely to commit a foul than either of the English or German midfielders though his four yellows does potentially bode well though the smaller sample size does leave the Spaniard’s number up for interpretation in a slower league like La Liga.

Comparisons: Fabinho

I’ll keep this part shorter than the others as there isn’t a much of a difference from the comparisons to Wharton and Bajcetic, however the caveat is that in this season both members of Liverpool’s double pivot, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, had stints deputising in the defensive line due to injuries to multiple central defenders at the club.
Match averages; 6.98 rating across 28 played with an average of 74 minutes on the pitch are all higher than Eichhorn’s numbers this season for Hertha.
Passing, like Wharton, Fabinho takes the cake on all the passing metrics available on Sofascore however the Brazilian does also have a slightly better long pass completion rate than Eichhorn at 57.6 – 56.7.
Defending, Fabinho is once again more successful in tackling and intercepting, skills which can be improved as Eichhorn gains more experience, one again the German talent appears to be more confident against dribblers, also appearing to be more adept at clearing the ball while Fabinho was not required to block a shot that season.
Dribbling is where the Brazilian surprised me, while he only made a dribble roughly once in every three games he did so with a 75% success rate, Eichhorn’s dribbling success is worse than Fabinho’s though he averages one dribble per match. Eichhorn does lose possession less than the Brazilian though his lower success rates in the “other” categories Sofa display does lean that Eichhorn’s more risky plays are within Fabinho reinforces that discipline is probably not too big of a worry with 6 yellows to the German’s 7 and 1 red.

Conclusion

I must admit that I am not an avid viewer of Germany’s second tier, or the Bundesliga for that matter, though for the purpose of better posts in the future I will attempt to engage in watching more football from around the world. From what footage I could find of Eichhorn he has a good touch, confidence to take a turn and run with the ball, a fair deal of physicality for a 6’1 (186cm) midfielder who does feel somewhat reminiscent of Joel Matip’s baby giraffe like runs out of the defensive line, I imagine as he enters adulthood and fills out his frame a bit more this will fade.
Given Wharton is expected to fetch in excess of £60m for Crystal Palace should anyone free up the money and a slot in their midfield I would say the rumoured release clause of £12m or Transfermarkt value of €20m (£17.3m) there is absolutely no harm in taking a punt on Eichhorn.
Due to post-Brexit rules Eichhorn will be unable to move to Liverpool until 27/07/27 upon his 18th birthday, he can sign for the club and be sent on loan within the EU with no issues this window as explained in Plettenberg’s X post which I linked in the intro of this blog.
Some people across social media are dubbing Eichhorn “the next Toni Kroos”, if he can live up to or surpass those comparisons for the price range mentioned above whichever team gets him to sign on the dotted line would be one step closer to a generational midfield in their squad. Only time will tell where the wunderkind will decide to ply his trade next season but one thing can be said for sure, his options are far from limited.

Thank you for reading,
Lily – The Stoppage Times