Michael Owen told Premier League Productions (28/02/21 at 9:45 pm) that if Liverpool were involved in a Champions League final tomorrow then Thiago Alcantara wouldn’t start.
Following Liverpool’s win against Sheffield United on Sunday, Owen shared that Thiago is ‘struggling’ even though he is ‘one of the most talented in the world’.
Thiago, who is currently a European champion after success with Bayern last season, started in the middle of the park at Sheffield United last night, alongside Curtis Jones and Gini Wijnaldum.
But Owen claimed that the Spanish technician has ‘more talent in his little finger’ than any other midfield player on Merseyside, but he still wouldn’t start in a big game for the Reds tomorrow.
“He’s struggling, like the rest of the team but it’s not his fault,” said Owen. “I agree with Scholesy that he’s a central player (and not a wide number eight). Playing out wide, you need more legs. But if you put him central then that goes against what Liverpool have based their success on.
“You could probably get away with it with the lesser teams when you just have loads of possession and he’s basically pulling the strings everywhere.
“But to answer your question, one-off game, Champions League final tomorrow and my whole squad was fit. I would go back to type and no (he doesn’t play). How did we win the Champions League?
“The hardest thing I feel watching him is that he’s got more talent in his little finger than virtually every midfielder in that team. He’s so talented. He’s one of the most talented in the world, yet we are saying if it was a big game tomorrow. Would you play him? And I think your general answer is you would probably go with your Henderson’s, Fabinho’s and Wijanldum’s.”
The problem for Thiago is that he hasn’t had the Jordan Henderson’s or Fabinho’s or Virgil Van Dijk’s in the team to thrive.
That has forced him to showcase a more defensive side of his game, which he doesn’t have compared to a Wijnaldum or a Henderson.
It may just be a case of when Liverpool are fully fit and firing next season that fans may just see the best of the Barcelona academy product.
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