Thiago Alcantara at Liverpool - Will he be a success?

Raees

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How will he fit in tactically? who will miss out assuming Wijnaldum stays...

 

Pexbo

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This one really hurts
 

gajender

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Very good player but wasn't he also accused of going missing in bigger games by German posters prior to this season. It would be interesting to see how Klopp sets up his team ,chances are he would succeed individually for Liverpool but whether that would translate in team's success or not I not certain.
 

BeltUp

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I'm really hoping that one of the best midfielders in the world doesn't make the best team in the league even better.
 

Pep's Suit

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Could be a bit like Fabregas to Barca signing. But we'll see.
 

#07

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Yes. Close thread. I don't wanna think about this.
 

Hernandez - BFA

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Cracking signing unfortunately. If he stays fit, they've bagged themselves a world class midfielder for peanuts.
 

Buchan

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He may flourish on an individual level, but I expect Liverpool to be much less defensively sound with him in their midfield, purely because they’ll now no longer have three defensive-minded workhorses protecting their back four in their favoured bum-rush style.

Let’s see how it goes...
 

Cassidy

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He may flourish on an individual level, but I expect Liverpool to be much less defensively sound with him in their midfield, purely because they’ll now no longer have three defensive-minded workhorses protecting their back four in their favoured bum-rush style.

Let’s see how it goes...
Thiago is very good defensively
 

RobinLFC

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Very good player but wasn't he also accused of going missing in bigger games by German posters prior to this season. It would be interesting to see how Klopp sets up his team ,chances are he would succeed individually for Liverpool but whether that would translate in team's success or not I not certain.
Given how he played in the CL knockout stages, and especially the final, I think he has debunked that opinion for the time being.

No idea if it was actually the case before that though, mind.
 

Lennon7

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He will, but at an initial fee of 20m it doesn’t actually matter all that much. They still have quality.
 

Flanders Devil

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Can see little downside risk for pool unfortunately. He’ll either excel and be a bargain or be average but no big deal for that price.
 

gajender

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Given how he played in the CL knockout stages, and especially the final, I think he has debunked that opinion for the time being.

No idea if it was actually the case before that though, mind.
He was brilliant this season but If I remember correctly few of the German posters did mention for all his talent he wasn't imposing himself on the biggest matches especially in Champions League but he did rectify it this season hopefully he disturbs your team's balance but seeing how Klopp has evolved with Liverpool I am not holding my breath. Who do you think loses out initially from your team for Thiago.
 

DomesticTadpole

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Just thinking by the end of this transfer window there will be more player performance threads for players we didn't sign than our own players.
 

Mac Asimov

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I'm still stunned at how much they got him for. Pound for pound one of the most value signings in the modern era of transfers.
Can't really say that until he's been there for a while and done the business. When we signed Sanchez on a swap with an unwanted player, we thought it was an amazing deal but look how that turned out. Thiago was also on the last year of his contract and wanted to leave and has seldom managed more than 30 games a season due to injuries so around 25 to 30 million isn't unexpected. If you were to read the papers with an uncritical eye you'd believe they got him for almost nothing. Sky were even using the phrase ' The Premier League club will pay £20m across Thiago's four-year contract ' in an article to make it seem an even better deal, no mention of wages and total cost etc..

If we bought him at the same price, all we'd be hearing about is 'utd panic buying' nonsense.
 

golden_blunder

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No doubting his talent, he’s world class.
I watch with interest to see if he makes them better or they have to change their midfield system to accommodate him. Because at the moment the other 3 do the hard work that enable the fullbacks to get forward. Will he go straight in? It so, who loses out? Henderson? Last time they dropped him for a period of time their team looked unbalanced.
 

bosnian_red

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Yeah they got the best controlling midfielder in the world and he'll bring their game up a level. Not necessarily more points, but will be more dominant in games, break down teams better and produce higher level football.

I'd guess he goes in a double pivot next to Fabinho or Henderson (fabinho sometimes in back 4). Or just a 433 with him deepest behind Henderson/fabinho and whoever else. He's definitely their best midfielder though.
 

Icemav

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Given how he played in the CL knockout stages, and especially the final, I think he has debunked that opinion for the time being.

No idea if it was actually the case before that though, mind.
Hmmmm he is ourageously talented but I also think he was part of the reason that Bayern were so open against Lyon. He is good defensively but a fast counter attacking team does seem to be able to blow past him. Also thought there were times in other games where he looked very conservative in his passing and sometimes dropped concentration almost giving the ball away v cheaply. Overall a good showing but the real stars were Kimmich, Davis and possibly Muller too. Thiago was of course impressive in his DLP role but there definitely were times when he seemed vulnerable. He was of course surrounded by extremely competent teammates.
 

Pace Abuser

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Thiago seems to have blown up only in the last year or so. Prior to that he was either injured, coming back from injury, or someone who was a fluff player. Pleasing on the eye but never really influenced or impacted games. It was a common theme that I remember. A forgotten man.

Seems completely different now though. He seems to control games and destroy opposition.
 

Josh 76

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People going well over the top.
He's a great player, yes.
How much will he Improve Liverpool from the 97 and 96 points they got without him?
Reminds me of when Utd signed Veron.
He was a world class player which we didn't need and disrupted our team formation.
Let's see, but I would have been more concerned had they signed Werner.
 

Sylar

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He will improve their starting 11 which won the title pretty easily last season.
I think hes suited to the league although I think most players who play in the German league are suited to the English Premier League esp the top ones.

I think midfield has been their weakest area and I think he will add another dimension as well as option. Hes good on the ball, has good vision, and is aggressive at getting the ball back. That will be perfect for Klopps style.
And its a really good price even if they only get a few years from him.
 

harms

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Absolutely. He is very good in terms of his defensive contribution and his ball-playing skills, obviously, are on another level compared to any of their midfielders.

I'd expect something like this, with Fabinho doing more covering out wide than he does at the moment (he was a decent right back back in the days):
Wijnaldum (Henderson) - Thiago - Fabinho

This one really hurts
Yeah :(
 

Pogue Mahone

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Of course he bloody will. And Liverpool are going to continue to succeed so long as they hold onto their current manager/ownership model. We’re staring down the barrel of a complete reverse of the 1990s/2000s United/Liverpool dynamic.

I’m one of few caftards old enough to remember how shit that feels. And it’s going to hurt way more this time round because at least, back then, we didn’t have any recent memories of the shoe being on the other foot.
 

harms

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How much will he Improve Liverpool from the 97 and 96 points they got without him?
Reminds me of when Utd signed Veron.
He was a world class player which we didn't need and disrupted our team formation.
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.
 

LilyWhiteSpur

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£25M is absolute robbery, top class player and IMO will become one of the first names on their teamsheet. Mentally, physically and technically he has the lot, last season was probably his best. Only down side would be his injury record but shouldn't be an issue for Liverpool. Just ask BM fans how they feel about him leaving.
 

Raw

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He's gonna get them title #20. Fecking depressing.

Fabinho, Henderson and Thiago is such a good midfield.
 

spiriticon

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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.
 

TrustInJanuzaj

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Yeh hes world class. I am interested to see how Klopp uses him though as he's very different to the existing players which means he might not fit into the same tactical setup.
 

Nickelodeon

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Don't think he'll be able to handle the physicality of the PL. He's too timid. The price for Bastian was also suspiciously low.
JK: Signing of the season