Liverpool had exactly seven days of celebrating their first ever Premier League title until they were brought back down to earth by Manchester City.Ok, losing 4-0 to their rivals won’t dampen the celebrations on Merseyside too much but it certainly wasn't the ideal first performance as the newly-crowned champions of England.Suddenly, Liverpool fans were asking whether they need to strengthen ahead of their title defence.They failed to do so last summer following their Champions League success and, after withdrawing their interest from Timo Werner allowing Chelsea to steal in, there’s signs it’ll be another quiet transfer window for the Reds.However, almost immediately after the final whistle sounded at the Etihad, Liverpool were being linked with Bayern Munich’s Thiago.In fact, according to Spanish outlet Sport, they’re ‘very close’ to signing him.
Where did that come from?
Just how accurate the reports actually are remains to be seen but one thing is for sure, Thiago would be perfect for Liverpool
The Reds haven’t really replaced Philippe Coutinho since his move to Barcelona in January 2018 and often lack a creative midfielder to break down defences. They usually don’t need one with Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino but a midfield three of Georginio Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho certainly isn’t the most creative.
He may be 29 but the signing of Thiago for just €35 million does make a lot sense.
And a tactical video on Thiago’s style on play shows that he’d be perfect for Klopp’s side.
The videos shows that his game is far more than passes and assists.
He’s actually the ‘expert in transition’ as he often wins the ball back for Bayern to start counter-attacks - something Klopp loves.
It’s no coincidence that last season, Bayern conceded 0.85 goals per game with Thiago and 2.5 goals per game without him. He’s that important to their defensive set-up.
“He’s the stabiliser in defence, with a great footballing brain,” the video states.
He’s also incredible at beating the opponent’s press, as he comfortably receives the ball in tight positions and beats the lines with a simple pass or dribble.
Then comes his vision to pick out through balls to his teammates in behind the defence - something that Salah and Mane would love. He’s not only got the vision but the ability to pull it off with a 93% pass completion.
What a player.