Liverpool target Thiago is not the messiah.
Before anybody jumps on me, I would like to say that Thiago Alcantara is a great footballer, and I sincerely hope he joins Liverpool over the coming weeks.
My issue here is with the Twitter fan base that have jumped all over the club for lacking creativity in midfield and see the Spanish midfielder as the answer to all of our problems.
However, and let’s be straight about this, Thiago Alacantara is good but he is not the creative messiah that the fans want him to be.
In fact, many fans have missed the point entirely as to why he would be a good addition to the squad. Yes he has a few tricks up his sleeve, yes he has a surprising turn of pace to break lines and yes he has an amazing ability to pass a ball.
However, Thiago plays more as a pivot and uses these skills to break out from deep and recycle the ball, he is not the creative mastermind that people think he is.
The truth is Thiago rarely scores and only had a couple of assists to his name all last season, and I actually think it’s his work off the ball that make him a perfect fit for the Premier League champions.
According to FBref, the Spaniard has just eight assists in three years from an xA of 6.2 – so he can thank from Munich forwards for their overperformance. He’s scored seven times.
I have said before that Thiago’s skills in the press along with his ability to read the game and break up play are underestimated.
His stats in these areas more than match up to anybody currently at the club and it’s here that he fits so sweetly into the system. He would, of course, offer something slightly different as he is probably more composed on the ball and will move it on with more pace than Jordan Henderson and co.
But, in reality, he would not be our Lionel Messi. Instead, Thiago would be another addition to the hard-working engine of the Jurgen Klopp midfield.
I hope we get him, he would be a good addition and will only add some much needed depth to the squad – if we can keep hold of Gini Wijnaldum as well.
However, as much as I rate Thiago’s abilities, I would not be sad if the club decided to keep the Dutchman and let Thiago move elsewhere if that was the choice that had to be made.