Liverpool travel to the south coast this weekend for Sunday's top-four clash away to Southampton, and an ideal summer signing will be in the Saints' ranks in Morgan Schneiderlin.

The 25-year-old is one of Southampton's top performers this season and a main factor behind their charge towards the upper echelons of the Premier League.

Brendan Rodgers will be looking to scupper their ambitions on Sunday, with Southampton one of Liverpool's main rivals this season.

Schneiderlin will be key to any Southampton success, and for this reason, Rodgers should be identifying the No. 4 as an ideal signing for the Merseyside club when the summer transfer window opens at the end of the season. 

Liverpool's Defensive Midfield Woes

The signing of Schneiderlin would see Rodgers addressing one of the most notoriously weak areas of his Liverpool squad, in defensive midfield.

In his time on Merseyside, Rodgers has often prioritised an attacking approach over establishing any form of defensive solidity, as last season's gung-ho style—heralding 101 goals scored, but also 50 goals conceded—evidenced.

Andy Hunter of the Guardian ruminated on the topic last month, claiming: "An out-and-out defensive midfielder was not a priority for Rodgers last season when [Steven] Gerrard was allowed to flourish in the playmaker role by Luis Suarez’s movement and the pace of Daniel Sturridge."

"We never really played with a defensive midfielder last season, we played with a playmaker," Hunter quotes Rodgers. "When you change, not the style, but the system, it requires different things."

This season, Rodgers has changed the system: Gerrard is no longer able to dictate from deep, and there is more of a focus on attacking cohesion—a defensive midfielder is paramount to this.

Despite this, Lucas Leiva represents the only specialist defensive midfielder in the Liverpool squad.

Since his reintroduction to Rodgers' first team at the end of November, Liverpool have lost just one Premier League game—perhaps unsurprisingly, Lucas didn't feature in this 3-0 loss away to Manchester United.

Lucas has become pivotal to Liverpool's success this season, but is not without his faults.

He is a strong tackler and a dutiful runner, but is fairly limited in his passing game and prone to lapses in discipline and, as his current absence suggests, also prone to injury.

These are perhaps reasons why, as Chris Bascombe of The Telegraph told AnfieldHQ (h/t This is Anfield) recently, the midfielder could still leave the club in the summer.

With Gerrard also departing at the end of the season, Rodgers would be wise to identify another specialist defensive midfielder who is able to compensate the captain's absence in the squad, as well as upgrade on the talents of Lucas.

Morgan Schneiderlin

Schneiderlin has long been linked with a move away from Southampton, with manager Ronald Koeman just successful in his attempts to keep him at the club during the considerable south coast exodus at the beginning of the 2014/15 season.

Liverpool took Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Rickie Lambert off their hands, with Luke Shaw, Calum Chambers, Gaston Ramirez and Dani Osvaldo also moving elsewhere.

But chairman Ralph Krueger told Sky Sports that Schneiderlin was "part of the core that we have decided to keep in Southampton," despite the midfielder's ire at being refused a move:

Southampton's desire to keep Schneiderlin at the club outlined the midfielder as irreplaceable, and his form so far this season underlines just why.

In 17 league games with the 25-year-old in the side, Southampton have lost just three, winning 11 for a win percentage of 64.7 percent.

Without Schneiderlin this season, Southampton have a win percentage of 42.9 percent and, perhaps more importantly, a loss percentage of 57.1 percent.

Success stems from the stability Schneiderlin provides as a strong tackler and an exceptional reader of the game, alongside Victor Wanyama's complementary defensive talents at the midfield base.

If Lucas is to leave Liverpool in the summer, Schneiderlin is more than capable of fulfilling this role, as shown by comparing their average statistical output this season:

Schneiderlin offers a similar defensive contribution, but with a more fine-tuned attacking bent—more comfortable driving into the opposition's half with the ball and pick a pass, as well as score.

The signing of Schneiderlin would add a younger, more durable and more cultured defensive midfielder to Liverpool's ranks, but for these reasons the pursuit of Southampton's No. 4 won't be easy.

An Ideal Solution

On the announcement of Gerrard's summer departure for LA Galaxy, former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy told talkSPORT that Schneiderlin would be his ideal replacement for the captain.

"Yes, he’s signed a new contract but you could get him out of Southampton because he’s an ambitious boy. He’s got Premier League experience and wouldn’t need time to adjust. He’s a really good player," Murphy detailed.

These reasons should spark the interest of Liverpool, but likely also their Premier League rivals.

Jack Wilson of the Daily Star even relayed reports from French publication L'Equipe earlier this month, claiming that Schneiderlin "has a 'personal agreement' to snub interest from Manchester United, Tottenham and Liverpool to join [Arsenal]."

Wilson also quotes Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville on the midfielder: "I think he could play at any of the top clubs in the league, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United or Arsenal—he's showed his quality this season."

That Neville left Liverpool out of that list is telling, with the side either lacking the financial clout or the near-guaranteed Champions League football that his other potential destinations can offer.

If Liverpool are to target Schneiderlin, their success would likely hinge on their vanquishing of Southampton on the way to a top-four placing in the Premier League this season.

The Reds can go some way towards that with a win at St. Mary's on Sunday.

Doing so could represent a true statement of intent to Schneiderlin, and Brendan Rodgers should pursue the player, as the Southampton midfielder would be an ideal signing for Liverpool.

Statistics via WhoScored.com.

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