Thiago Alcantara to Liverpool has emerged as one of the unexpected stories of 2020.
It had long been touted that the newly-crowned Premier League champions would keep their wallets firmly shut this summer, hence allowing Timo Werner to secure a move to Chelsea.
However, it seems as though the Reds are willing to break away from their policy of 'internal transfers' if the right player becomes available and Bayern Munich's Thiago could be that man.
Thiago to Liverpool?
It's no secret that the Spaniard is one of the best midfielders in European football and Barcelona must have spent the last seven years kicking themselves that they ever let him go.
And everything points toward Thiago being tempted by a new challenge after almost a decade in Bavaria, which could come in the form of linking up with Jurgen Klopp on Merseyside.
The Athletic journalist David Ornstein has explained that there is mutual admiration between club and player, but any potential transfer, much like Werner, will come down to the financials.
When Thiago faced Liverpool
But in such an uncertain and pessimistic time, let's put on our positive hats for once and imagine that Thiago is indeed destined to help Liverpool defend their Premier League crown.
So, how would he do? Delivering the goods in La Liga and the Bundesliga is, after all, a completely different environment to England's top flight, especially as far as physicality is concerned.
But Liverpool perhaps have no more positive indicator than turning to Thiago's performance against the best team in the Premier League: ermmm, Liverpool themselves.
That's right, Thiago was part of the Bayern team that came unstuck against the Reds during the 2018/19 Champions League campaign, which Klopp's men ultimately went on to win.
Thiago's individual highlights
However, there were still positives for Bayern to take from the two legs and one of them came in the form of Thiago's display in the second leg at the Allianz Arena.
Being on the receiving end of a 3-1 defeat doesn't necessarily mean every player had a shocker and the qualities Thiago can bring to Liverpool were wholly apparent.
Check out his full highlights below - courtesy of YouTuber 'MidfielderParadise MatchHighlights' - and his stunning outside-of-the-foot pass at 2:20.
GIVEMESPORT's Kobe Tong says
I mean, he's got 'Jurgen Klopp player' written all over him.
It's like clockwork the amount of times Thiago was spraying diagonal passes out wide; just imagine how perfect that would be for Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
And perhaps his finest weapon is the fluidity and rapidity with which he turns players when receiving the ball, making him a real asset in Liverpool's counterattacking and quick-transition style.
Does potentially splashing out on a 29-year-old go against Liverpool's transfer strategy? A little, it must be said, but it could be the difference between retaining the title and losing it to City again.
You've got to keep building while you're at the top. Sure, Liverpool didn't do that last summer, but that should make it even more imperative for them not to go a second year sleeping on their success.
Besides, their biggest rivals just happen to have billions upon billions of pounds behind them.
