There continues to be a lot of speculation around Spanish midfielder Thiago and a pontential transfer to Liverpool.
It is said that the Bayern Munich midfielder is prepapered to leave his club and try his hand in the Premier League with Liverpool being his prefered destination.
There is no doubting Thiago’s ability as a player but there are some points to consider with regards to this transfer and why it may not happen.
1. Liverpool’s midfield
Liverpool already have some great midfield options with Klopp seemingly favouring a midfield three of Fabinho, Henderson and Wijnaldum for the big games. That still leaves the options of Keita, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Milner who all bring in their own strengths to the side. There is also young Curtis Jones who is making his break-through into the Liverpool midfield and has shown a lot of potential.
With seven capable midfielders who have now come used to the Liverpool way of playing football, is there room for Thiago?
There is an argument that Thiago has the neccessary skills to be able to unlock teams that sit back and defend against Liverpool but with Keita finally getting his form now for the Reds, he could be the player to do that.
On the other hand, Gini Wijnaldum has not signed a new contract yet so if he were to leave then Thiago would be the perfect replacement.
2. The Liverpool Way
Liverpool’s success has been hinged around a midfield three who press, run hard and give it their all for 90 minutes with most attacks stemming from the width of the full-backs.
Thiago is a very technical and skillful player and it may take hime some time to fit into the current Liverpool way of football.
3. Thiago’s Age
Liverpool have been trying their best to stick to a transfer policy of buying young players who will have a potentially higher resale value in the future. At 29-years-old, Thiago will not quite fit this policy and that could be something that leads to a transfer not being done.
4. Thiago’s Injury Record
Thiago has only recently come back from groin surgery and his previous injury record is not too great. According to Transfermarkt, the midfielder has suffered close to 25 injuries and missed over 100 games in his career. Added to that, in seven seasons, Thiago has just once played 30 or more Bundesliga matches in a season.
This may not bode well with the physical nature of the Premier League.
5. Thiago’s Wages
If Thiago were to leave Bayern Munich now, his next move is likely to be his last major contract and he would be looking to get the best deal possible in terms of his wages. Thiago is a big name European star with high pedigree and would certainly command a high salary.
Liverpool have offloaded Lovren, Lallana and Clyne from the clubs wage bill and will be looking to keep that as low as possible with the reduced income for the club due to the current pandemic.
Would the club be willing to spend so much on Thiago’s wages at this time?
