Liverpool should swap Gini Wijnaldum for Thiago.
But only on one condition.
The Reds are closing in on the signing of the Bayern Munich star, according to James Findlater in the Echo, and have made contact with the Bavarian side.
Sporting director Michael Edwards only wants to pay £22 million for the Spaniard, although Munich are still holding out for £27 million.
This raises questions about the future of Gini Wijnaldum, who has just 12 months left on his contract and isn’t close to signing a new deal.
Sky Sports reported that Wijnaldum is relaxed about his Anfield future and doesn’t have any plans to extend his stay, right now.
"Kaveh Solhekol said: “There are currently no talks about extending his contract. He is relaxed about the situation and will continue to give 100 per cent.”"
This is the condition in which a move for Thiago could work.
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Without someone leaving the squad, there’ll be too many midfielders to keep everyone happy. With Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wijnaldum and Thiago fighting for three places, there’s always going to be someone grumbling.
Marko Grujic could be thrown into the mix, too, if the club don’t receive an acceptable income for the Serbian.
Edwards and manager Jurgen Klopp need to be inside Gini’s head at the moment to work out where he’ll start 2021/2022. If it’s not going to be at Liverpool, then the transfer committee should look to sell Wijnaldum now and use that money to part-fund a move for Thiago.
According to Transfermarkt, the Dutchman is worth £36 million but it would be a huge surprise if the club were able to get that much for him. His contract expires in 2021, and nobody is going to pay that much for someone they could get on a free in less than 12 months.
Wijnaldum is hugely important to the side and played 86% of minutes in the Premier League last season and has played 186 times in four years.
But if Liverpool can sign Thiago and move Gini on for around the same figure, they’ll be able to bring some security to that situation and something a little bit different to that area of the pitch.