Samed Yesil in 10 facts
Liverpool have signed Samed Yesil from Bayer Leverkusen today, but what do you know about our new young striker? Here are 10 interesting facts to bring you up to speed.
1. Yesil first came to prominence at the U17 World Cup in 2011, putting his name on the scoresheet six times in seven matches as Germany secured third place at the tournament. Two of those goals came in a quarter-final victory against England, who listed new Reds teammate Raheem Sterling in their line-up for that match in Mexico.
2. Liverpool supporters will have extra reason to make a note of our new forward's birthday, as it coincides with the anniversary of one of the greatest days in the club's history. Samed was born on 25 May 1994 and was blowing out 11 candles on a cake while the Reds were lifting their fifth European Cup in Istanbul.
3. Samed made just one first-team appearance for Bayer Leverkusen before arriving at Anfield, making his debut as a substitute in a Bundesliga encounter with Hertha Berlin in April this year. The coach who handed the youngster that cameo was none other than former Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia, who now manages the German side.
4. The 18-year-old has a phenomenal scoring record at youth level, with 22 goals in 26 appearances for his country at U16, U17 and U18 level. As well as the six he bagged at the U17 World Cup, Yesil was on target three times at the U17 European Championship in May 2011 and was selected in the squad of the tournament by UEFA.
5. The quickfire rate at which Samed scores goals has earned him a fitting and complimentary nickname - 'Gerd'. Teammates have been so enamoured by the youngster's prowess in front of goal that they have likened him to perhaps the greatest striker Germany has ever produced, Gerd Muller, who concluded his international career with 68 strikes in just 62 appearances.
6. Given the German striker's apparent confidence, maybe his impressive goalscoring record should not be a surprise. "I get stuck in where it hurts because I want to score goals," Yesil remarked in an interview last year. "It doesn't matter if I get kicked or fouled. The important thing is I score. My aim is to score in every match."
7. In joining Liverpool, Samed becomes only the fifth German player to wear a red shirt. His predecessors were Markus Babbel, Dietmar Hamann, Karl-Heinz Riedle and Christian Ziege. The deal marks the third occasion a player has arrived at Anfield from Bayer Leverkusen, with both previous signings also strikers - Erik Meijer and Andriy Voronin.
8. Like Nuri Sahin, Samed holds dual nationality for Germany and Turkey. Although his family are from Trabzon in Turkey, the new Reds youngster was born in Dusseldorf. Unlike Sahin, however, Yesil opted to represent Germany rather than Turkey at international level.
9. Yesil may not have had any direct experience of English football to date, but he will no doubt have received pearls of wisdom from two men with plenty between them. Hyypia proved to be one of the finest Barclays Premier League imports during his 10 years on Merseyside, while Steffen Freund - Samed's coach for Germany - spent five years playing for Tottenham plus a loan spell at Leicester.
10. While goals are clearly the headline on Yesil's football CV, the forward is equally capable of setting up others, as testified by the five assists he added to his six goals at the U17 World Cup last year. His performances secured him the Silver Shoe as second top scorer at the tournament.