Thiago Alcantara at Liverpool - Will he be a success?

Falcow

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Only hope here is that:

- He disrupts their wage structure, surely coming in at 250k pw. Has VVD signed new deal yet?
- He is 29 and perhaps not as hungry as he was a few years ago.
- This season aside he hasn't been that great for Bayern.
- He may upset the team tactically and pool dont play a controlling type game anyway.

Yes, I'm aware I'm clutching, thank you very much.
 

hasanejaz88

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They literally had one weakness in their whole starting XI, a player who can control possession in midfield, and now they've gotten arguably the best player in the world for that role.

With regards to the arguments surrounding the reasons for him leaving. I think when he heard Liverpool were seriously interested he decided he wanted to leave, before that he was very willing to sign a new contract.

You can't blame him, he's going from the best team in Europe to arguably the second best. He's played 7 years at Bayern and now officially won every domestic trophy possible, he says he wants a new challenge and you can't blame him for it.

I debated @Zehner about his importance to team and said Bayern can do without him in the starting XI, but now that he is leaving the loss seems more. Goretzka and Kimmich are certainly great in midfield together and compliment each other better than I think Kimmich and Thiago did, but Thiago's skillset is certainly unique right now and not easily replaceable. Thiago can sometimes look better than his performances, the match against Lyon was an example where he played some bad passes in the center and gave Lyon counter attacking opportunities but overall he is definitely world class.

A midfield of Fabinho-Keita-Thiago would be amazing for Pool.
 

LilyWhiteSpur

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Only hope here is that:

- He disrupts their wage structure, surely coming in at 250k pw. Has VVD signed new deal yet?
- He is 29 and perhaps not as hungry as he was a few years ago.
- This season aside he hasn't been that great for Bayern.
- He may upset the team tactically and pool dont play a controlling type game anyway.

Yes, I'm aware I'm clutching, thank you very much.
:lol:
 

El Zoido

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He’ll do great, Liverpool is a very well structured, balanced, and managed team.
 

pascell

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I'll even go as far as saying he'll outperform Pogba this season. He has so much quality and none of it is pace reliant, he'll easily play at the top level at 33/34.
 

Jim Beam

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I still can't get around that fee... I mean, sure it is the last year of the contract, but still the price should have been doubled at least even when you count "covid" market in.

Schweinsteiger!!!
 

K_Ash

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He will get seriously injured. It is just a matter of "WHEN". I am glad we stayed away.
 

Blackwidow

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In difference to Alaba it was not about money. He already discussed a contract with which both sides were happy when Thiago told them that he wants to make something different. Maybe that a lot of people that Thiago and his wife are close with live in the Liverpool/Manchester area has played a role in this transfer, too. Yes, money is important - but I doubt that it is the main driving force for this transfer.

If you take his Bayern time
- he sometimes had his (little) problems with Pep (or Pep with him) - he was Pep's player but Pep at this time did not like it if he did not keep it simple and tried to play too fancy/risky - but I guess that is part of the development of a player
- he was great with Ancelotti, after Pep he worked with a personal coach and his game got a lot more physical
- was mostly injured in Heynckes time (that is when James shone as 8)
- was great with Kovac in 18/19. At the beginning of this season - mainly when he had to play alone on the 6 - he had his problems.
- rest of 19/20 In a partnership with Kimmich or Goretzka as 6/8 pairing he thrived.

I think that the critics about him in big matches came of the matches in which he played as the most offensive player or no. 10 in a 4-3-3. But actually nobody of the Bayern team really shone in this matches...
 

Piratesoup

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He's going to be brilliant for Liverpool. My poor heart can barely take it. :(
 

Jerzol78

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I know that it sound a bit weird, considering their record-breaking season and everything, but they were playing worse than they did in the previous season and it was quite evident that they really struggled creatively against deep-sitting defences. The amount of the late winning goals shows both their immense character (and luck) and the underlying issue – and Thiago is going to significantly improve them in that regard, while also giving them a genuine match-winning presence in midfield.
I have a feeling, that Thiago himself might perform very well, while at the same time Liverpool not so. And even not because of Thiago (and a change of the system), but simply other players might regress.
 

arnie_ni

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Id put him as the second best midfielder in the league after kdb
 

duffer

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Great player, unbelievable price.

He's got no price tag to live up to and can perform without too much pressure.

It's a steal all round.
If he's not great, people will say he is shit regardless of transfer fee.

He's going to be coming into one of the best sides in Premier League history. if he is not better than the person he replaces, it's a bad transfer.
 

LilyWhiteSpur

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I have a feeling, that Thiago himself might perform very well, while at the same time Liverpool not so. And even not because of Thiago (and a change of the system), but simply other players might regress.
There will be no regression, their main players are all in or coming into their peak years. Milner is the only "elderly" one but hes clearly a physical freak of a man.
 

LilyWhiteSpur

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If he's not great, people will say he is shit regardless of transfer fee.

He's going to be coming into one of the best sides in Premier League history. if he is not better than the person he replaces, it's a bad transfer.
Most fans don't watch other teams games, Thiago is a player that controls tempo and position of the ball something that often gets missed by opposition fans. I will very much doubt there will be many saying this is a bad transfer at £25M.
 

Moston Red

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Will definitely improve the team. Astonished at the fee tbh. Just have to see if he can stay fit.
 

cyberman

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He could be the catalyst to play a different way. Keita began to settle in last year so maybe the midfield can play on the front foot now. Their success last year relied on an exceptional defence, and the attack was gradually becoming less potent. A more dominant midfield could potentially release the burden on both.
Maybe, but we saw it with Pogba when he was controlling it in tight spaces. He would do great, keep the ball then pass it to Herrera who would then be Herrera in tight spaces, regardless of how well Pogba did.
I just dont think 1 ball playing CM is enough for a change of play but obviously Klopp knows 100000x more about football than i do
 

harms

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I have a feeling, that Thiago himself might perform very well, while at the same time Liverpool not so. And even not because of Thiago (and a change of the system), but simply other players might regress.
Well, that's possible. I'm still betting on City myself (not actually betting, but I do actually expect them to win the next title), but Thiago will significantly boost Liverpool's chances.

Scratch that, we'll sign Sancho, Upamecano and Maradona and break the points record.
 

Mac Asimov

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Glad we stayed away, he's not a patch on our Bruno.
Bruno! Bruno! rolls off the tongue better too!
 

LilyWhiteSpur

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Well, that's possible. I'm still betting on City myself (not actually betting, but I do actually expect them to win the next title), but Thiago will significantly boost Liverpool's chances.

Scratch that, we'll sign Sancho, Upamecano and Maradona and break the points record.
I feel he would be a failure in the PL.
 

arthurka

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I don´t care really, focus has to be on us and our shocking lack of desire and winning.
 

duffer

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Most fans don't watch other teams games, Thiago is a player that controls tempo and position of the ball something that often gets missed by opposition fans. I will very much doubt there will be many saying this is a bad transfer at £25M.
If they spent £25 million on this dude to replace someone they already have, it's a bad transfer if he's not better than whoever he replaces.
 

soapythecat

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One of, if not the best midfielders in the world. Only 29 so contract length not an issue. Perfect signing for a team looking to continue growing youngest players and maintain dominance.
How United weren’t able to match demands is laughable. Maybe he wasn’t interested in playing for United?
Fair play Liverpool - brilliant purchase.
 

Falcow

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After learning of the sacrifice of Rhain Brewster in order for his to be signing completed Thaigo has nobly agreed to donate 1% of his wage to The Society for Prevention of Religious Sacrifices.
I can see 'Brewsters law' being enacted to prevent such sacrifices from happening in the future.
 

Conor

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Not sure he's going to be this incredible PL player that the scousers reckon he will be.
 

Dancfc

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Reminds me of Ballack to Chelsea. Chelsea were the PL champs and Ballack was a world class midfielder that arrived from Bayern.

Everyone thought him and Shevchenko arriving meant the title was a given for Chelsea but Ballack disrupted the balance of the team and United pipped them to the title.

I think it will go a similar way but City will be the ones to win the title. Bayern don’t let their best players go unless there is a reason. They clearly don’t trust his injury record and the pace and physicality of the PL may add to his already ridiculous injury record.
Ballack wasn't the reason we lost the league.

It was because for about a month Hilario was in goal and Essien was one of the CBs. Which meant we didn't have our first two keepers, best CB and our engine of the midfield was playing in another position.
 

RobinLFC

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If they spent £25 million on this dude to replace someone they already have, it's a bad transfer if he's not better than whoever he replaces.
Nah this is a very flawed argument. You spend money on a player to strengthen your squad, not necessarily replace another individual player. If he's not better than "whoever he replaces", he won't be replacing him.

By your logic if we spend €30m on Ismaïla Sarr tomorrow and he fails to get in our starting XI over Salah, that would be a bad transfer too. You can surely see how ridiculous that sounds.
 

monosierra

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Cracking signing unfortunately. If he stays fit, they've bagged themselves a world class midfielder for peanuts.
That's partly down to having a world-class manager known for developing players to the next level. The contract situation and Kopp's attraction helped make Pool the number one destination.
 

Blackwidow

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One of, if not the best midfielders in the world. Only 29 so contract length not an issue. Perfect signing for a team looking to continue growing youngest players and maintain dominance.
How United weren’t able to match demands is laughable. Maybe he wasn’t interested in playing for United?
Fair play Liverpool - brilliant purchase.
Coutinho was hanging around him a full year telling him about his old great days at Liverpool with Klopp...
 

2ndTouch

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I have no doubt he is a fantastic player. Is he a better fit for Liverpool's midfield than whoever he replaces? We will soon see!
Yes. I expect Fabinho to move into the CB spot beside VVD, and Thiago to replace him as the pivot.
 

stu_1992

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Provided he stays fit, he'll be a success for them. Has too much quality to not. The main question mark over him is fitness record as I mentioned. Could he upset the balance of their team? Maybe but doubtful, and I'm sure they'd figure it out.
 

sugar_kane

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The main shred of hope I’m clinging onto is that normally when Bayern sell a high profile player they turn to shite at their next club