SELL or KEEP? Liverpool's big Thiago decision

Sam McGuire

11 Jul 2023 11:00 BST
5 min read

Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara. — © ProShots

Liverpool have committed to their midfield rebuild this summer.

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita, James Milner and Arthur Melo all left the club and the Reds have brought in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai for a combined €110 million. A third midfielder is expected through the door at Anfield with Romeo Lavia at the top of the current shortlist, though there has been interest in Khephren Thuram, Manu Kone and Ryan Gravenberch.

The feeling was that one more arrival would be the end of the midfield business this summer.

Now, however, there is talk that there could be yet another exit on the cards and this probably would force Liverpool to bring in at least one more midfielder. According to reports, Thiago is being courted by Turkish and Saudi Arabian clubs.

The 32-year-old has just 12 months left on his current deal at Anfield and it does put Liverpool in a bit of a predicament.

When fit, he is one of the best midfielders in the world and any team across Europe improves with him as part of their squad. Losing him for a reduced fee, which would be the case this summer due to his contract situation, could be viewed as a poor business. Of course, the counter to that would be that he is leaving on a free next summer, so anything now is better than nothing then.

When Thiago arrived on Merseyside in September 2020, he was handpicked by Jurgen Klopp as the player to help the then-reigning Premier League champions to evolve. Liverpool no longer wanted their left-sided midfielder to be a facilitator - a role Gini Wijnaldum had excelled in, instead, they wanted a controller in that position.

Fans didn’t get to see the vision for well over a season due to the injury-hit 2020/21 campaign, but everything became a lot clearer during the 2021/22 season when Thiago started to drop alongside Fabinho in the build-up to create a double-pivot. He was seeing much more of the ball and it gave Liverpool a different dynamic.

© ProShots - Thiago Alcantara has had a mixed Liverpool career

It is no coincidence that the Reds competed on all four fronts - finishing a point behind Manchester City in the title race, reaching the Champions League final and winning both domestic cup competitions. It was Thiago’s best season with the club and one of the team’s best seasons under Klopp. It more than highlighted the No.6’s importance.

The issue with this though, is that Thiago isn’t the most reliable player. Across his three seasons with the Reds, he’s averaged just 1,500 Premier League minutes per campaign. It is near impossible to build a structure around a player who last made over 20 league starts during the 2018/19 season with Bayern Munich. In fact, that was the last time he racked up over 2,000 minutes in a domestic league.

For sustained success, you need continuity. Liverpool’s best season since his arrival was the campaign in which Thiago featured in 25 of their 38 matches.

The change to the 3-2-2-3 system further complicates matters.

Klopp deployed that shape in the final 10 matches of the season as the Reds won seven and drew the other three to claim a fifth-placed finish. The new shape pushes the left-sided midfielder into higher and wider areas with the creative burden in the middle third falling to Trent Alexander-Arnold in his inverted role. Everything is funnelled the way of the No.66 and he thrived in the new position, chipping in with seven assists and a goal.

© ProShots - Trent Alexander-Arnold has lessened the need for Thiago

Curtis Jones impressed on the left of midfield, embracing the hybrid position and allowing the left-winger to cut inside a lot more. With Mac Allister through the door, the Reds have options in that position even if Thiago is unavailable. The system is no longer built around the one-time Barcelona maestro. It begs the question; if you aren’t playing to his strengths, should you keep him around?

Some would want to keep him around for his influence on players. There aren’t many midfielders out there who couldn’t learn something from the fleet-footed tempo-setter. He would be a luxury but a luxury no team in the world would pass up. Having said that though, Liverpool work with a limited budget and spending over €220,000-per-week on someone who might not be able to influence the game on the pitch in most matches is not money well spent.

It is going to be something Klopp and the recruitment staff no doubt ponder over the next couple of weeks. There are arguments to keep him and solid arguments to sell him. This might not make or break the upcoming season but it will impact it, one way or another.