Speaking recently on The Beautiful Game Podcast, Christian Falk discussed a number of this summer’s transfer rumours, and, in particular, Liverpool’s reported interested in Bayern Munich midfielder, Thiago Alcantara.
Since moving to Bayern from Barcelona in what was a £22.5 million deal back in 2013, Thiago has gone on to make 235 appearances for the club, scoring 31 goals and providing 37 assists along the way.
The Spanish international highly impressed for the Bundesliga side last season, making 24 league appearances, over which he scored three goals and averaged a WhoScored match rating of 7.47 – ranking him as the club’s fourth-best player in the league, playing a pivotal role in their title-winning campaign.
In addition to this, the 29-year-old also performed remarkably in the Champions League, scoring no goals but providing two assists over his 10 appearances in the competition, averaging a WhoScored match rating of 7.76 – helping the club to go on and secure the Champions League trophy.
However, despite this success, it has been reported that Thiago has informed Bayern he would like to leave the club this summer, with Liverpool said to be his preferred destination, and, speaking on The Beautiful Game Podcast, Christian Falk stated that Jurgen Klopp would indeed like to bring the midfielder to Merseyside this summer, however, he questioned whether the club has the funds available to do a deal.
He said: “I heard that Klopp wants him. He didn’t get [Timo] Werner, now he wants Thiago. I think he’s a puzzle for his system, which is very, very good.
“Thiago, when he was going to [Bayern] Munich, he was already technically perfect, now he’s also good in defence. So, I think this is a key player Liverpool could need, but I don’t know if the club gives Klopp the money to pay [for] Thiago, because we know that Bayern Munich are expecting €30 million for the player and I’m not sure if Liverpool will bring it immediately.”
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TIF Thoughts…
From Falk’s comments, then, it would indeed appear as if Thiago is a player who Klopp would very much like to bring to the club this summer, however, he is unsure as to whether Liverpool’s owners will afford the German the funds to make the deal happen.
In our opinion, the club should be doing everything they can do get the signing of Thiago over the line this summer, as he is a player who brings much more than simply goals and assists to his team, as can be seen from his last season’s statistics with Bayern.