Thiago Alcantara has become a divisive figure at Liverpool amid the club's recent downturn in form. 

Thiago was a media darling when he first set foot at Anfield. Supporters and pundits alike were left wholeheartedly besotted with his delightful technique and ethereal ability to control games in the palm of his hand. 

That was when Liverpool were mounting a stark title defence and positive results were easy to come by. Fast-forward a couple of months, though, and the narrative is beginning to flip on its head. 

Critics have begun to use Thiago as a scapegoat for a run of results that has seen Liverpool take just three points from the last available 15. 

Though most are stopping short of slating his actual ability, it's Thiago's style that has drawn criticism. 

And ahead of Liverpool's trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday evening, former Spurs midfielder Jamie O'Hara expressed similar concern over the 29-year-old technician while speaking to talkSPORT.

"As much as I love Thiago, I think he's fantastic, brilliant to watch, he just slows it down for them.

"When Fabinho plays in midfield and Henderson plays in midfield they have an energy and they have an edge."

O'Hara went on to add: "I think that's what's made Liverpool so great, especially over the last  couple of seasons, is their energy and relentlessness just to keep going."

"Now all of a sudden I'm watching them and thinking Thiago he's getting the ball, he's brilliant, he's moving it like Man City. I think he'd be perfect for Man City's side, but in Liverpool's team he just slows it up a bit, he wants to have 150 touches a game. 

"Thiago slows it down too much for me."

GIVEMESPORT's Jack Saville says...

The debate over Thiago is likely to remain a prominent sub-plot as the season unfolds. 

O'Hara's claim that he'd be perfect for Man City is in keeping with a growing school of thought: the two-time Champions League winner isn't suited to the pulsating, high-octane approach that Liverpool have built their success on. 

There is certainly no doubt that Thiago would be an excellent metronome in Pep Guardiola's midfield given his world-class passing ability and the fact he's made more appearances under the Catalonian (144) than any other manager in his career.

However, the conclusions being drawn claiming Thiago is ill-suited to Liverpool are premature.

Liverpool have failed to score in each of their last four league games and the former Bayern Munich lynchpin started in three of those. 

Despite the concerning statistics, though, plenty of pundits are jumping to conclusions that fail to take the wider context into account. 

Thiago - who is valued at £43.2m by Transfermarkt - is adapting to a new club and group of players in the midst of a challenging season on the injury front.

Liverpool have stagnated collectively in the absence of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, and the squad are being forced to adapt to a system that has rarely incorporated even one natural centre-back in recent months. 

The effects of that have manifested in recent weeks and Thiago's style of play is merely being used as a vehicle to explain the wider problems at Anfield. 

The struggle is all part of the transition process and, in the coming years, his style of play will be lauded as a catalyst for some of Liverpool's most breath-taking play rather than labelled an obstacle to success.