Bayern Munich playmaker Thiago Alcantara has been tipped to make a summer move to Liverpool with Germany legend Lothar Matthaus telling Sportbuzzer that he would be a perfect fit for Jurgen Klopp’s team.
The viewpoint of a 1990 Ballon D’Or winner is not one that is necessarily held by everyone in football, however.
If you’re talking about technical skills, you can probably count the midfielders better than this seven-time Bundesliga winner one on hand.
Thiago exudes that unique ability to control the tempo of a game from the base of midfield, carving apart an entire opposition team with one masterful sweep of his right boot.
But you need more than sublime technical skills to thrive in a Jurgen Klopp team.
Gini Wijnaldum, James Milner and Jordan Henderson are more about perspiration than inspiration and that is perhaps where a potential move to Thiago falls down.
He has never started more than 26 league games since joining Bayern from Barcelona due to a host of injury problems and, at the age of 29, doubts persist about whether he has the engine to thrive on Merseyside – even if Klopp’s heavy-metal football has been replaced by something more akin to radio friendly indie.
“With Thiago, I’m pretty sure the signs are goodbye,” Matthaus says of the Spain international. “What other reason would he have for not yet accepting Bayern’s offer?
“Liverpool are obviously very fond of him and he would absolutely fit into Jurgen Klopp’s team.”
As Matthaus alludes to, Thiago has been reluctant so far to extend a contract which expires in 2021.
And Sport last week claimed that talks over a £35 million move to Liverpool are underway.
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