Gary Neville has admitted that he’s excited by the prospect of Liverpool signing Thiago Alcantara, claiming Jurgen Klopp needs a player like him.
The Premier League champions have been heavily linked with a move for the Bayern Munich midfielder for much of the summer.
Despite the speculation running on so long, it still boils down to one simple question: are Liverpool going to spend the £27 million needed to bring him to Anfield?
It has been reported that the Reds are reluctant to shell out that sort of money on a player who’s available to sign on a pre-contract agreement as soon as January.
Thiago, who earns £205,000 per week in Bavaria, helped the German giants to a treble last season – which includes a Champions League title – and Neville says that the Anfield outfit badly need him, adding that he’s ‘such a brilliant player’.
He said via The Mirror: “The one that I think that scarily would excite me the most is Thiago to Liverpool. I think Liverpool need that player.
“Because the team’s been so good, the coach has been so good it would feel like if they didn’t sign someone at this point, the players in that dressing room would probably want that challenge of a new player coming in. He’s such a brilliant player. Liverpool need [a player like that.] He would be an outstanding player.”
Do Liverpool need him? Well, that’s up for debate, but they definitely need him if Gini Wijnaldum goes.
The Netherlands international has been linked with a move to Barcelona and if he goes to Spain, Klopp and Michael Edwards simply must bow to Bayern’s demands and pay the £27 million.
Wijnaldum played a big role in their title success of last season, starting 35 of a possible 38 Premier League games, and he’ll absolutely need replacing.
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