He spent last season at Borussia Möchengladbach and the season prior at FC Freiburg, his impact on each was profound, but I'll get to that in a bit. First a look at his stats from both years:
| cc90 | ccv | cr90 | cr% | lb90 | lb% | tb% | sdr90 | sdr% | |
| 13-14 | 2.93 | 9.2 | 1.97 | 44.9 | 3.91 | 84 | 53.9 | 3.88 | 67.4 |
| 12-13 | 2.85 | 8.6 | 1.28 | 20.5 | 3.03 | 79.2 | 72.2 | 2.84 | 60.8 |
Nearly three chances created per 90, a successful cross rate rivaled by no one in the Prem and only the well-esteemed Ricardo Rodriguez bettered in the Bundesliga, 3-4 long balls per 90 at an 80+ percent completion rate, and successful dribble stats that only the likes of Ribery, Firmino, Draxler, and Gotze equaled. Pretty impressive company for a relative unknown, but those aren't the only things that make Kruse an attractive transfer target.
The year before he transferred to Freiburg from St. Pauli, the Black Forest club finished 12th. Kruse led them to a fifth place finish and a Europa league spot, four points shy of Champions League football. It was their second-highest finish in the Bundesliga ever and only the third time they had reached the Europa/UEFA Cup. Last season, after he left for Borussia Möchengladbach, Freiburg dropped to 14th.
Prior to joining his current club, Gladbach finished 8th, scored 45 goals, and tallied 47 points. Last season they finished 6th, scored 59 goals, and earned 55 points. Much of their success was due to Kruse and his partner up front, Raffael. The bottom line is, he wills his side to win and his uncanny style mesmerizes and befuddles opposition players and coaches. I honestly think he would be a great addition to Liverpool, just imagine he, Gerrard, Sturridge, Coutinho, and Sterling passing the ball about the pitch like they were playing against a bunch of ice cream truck clowns.
