Football News

Thiago to bring the “finesse” lacked by Liverpool’s midfield?

By John Smith

Published: 11:07, 4 September 2020

Jamie Redknapp believes the signing of Thiago will add the “finesse” that is currently lacking from Liverpool’s midfield. 

The Reds have arguably been the most dominant side on the planet over the past two seasons, lifting the Uefa Champions League, Uefa Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup trophies alongside their long-awaited Premier League title.

Would Thiago improve Liverpool’s midfield? Five things to know…

  • Thiago put in a Man of the Match performance during Bayern’s 1-0 Champions League final win over PSG.
  • The Spaniard completed an average of 82.63 passes per 90 minutes in the Bundesliga last season, with an accuracy of 90.48%.
  • Liverpool have been strongly linked with the former Barcelona man’s signature during the current transfer window.
  • And Redknapp believes Thiago will add some much-needed “finesse” to the Reds’ midfield.
  • Liverpool’s only signing of the current window so far is Greek left-back Kostas Tsmikas.

The likes of Alisson, Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson have established themselves as world-class stars in defensive roles during that time, while their front three of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane needs no introduction.

However, the one area where many perceive as one for improvement for Jurgen Klopp is midfield, with many feeling Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Georginio Wijnaldum lack the creativity offered by the midfield of Manchester City, despite their many other qualities.

The English champions have been heavily linked with Thiago in recent weeks and the Spaniard certainly caught the eye with his Man of the Match performance during Bayern Munich’s Champions League final win over Paris Saint-Germain, completing 75 passes — at least 22 more than any other player — and two dribbles, as well as making three tackles and two interceptions.

And Redknapp believes Thiago can add the “finesse” which the Reds’ midfield has lacked in recent years, giving Liverpool the ability to even better control play on a game-to-game basis.

We’ve often spoken about how good Liverpool’s midfield are, how hard-working they are, but sometimes they maybe lack that bit of finesse and that little bit of quality,” the former Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder said.

“Thiago would give them something completely different, he’s one of the best midfield players in the world. He dictates the play, plays at his own pace.

“Sometimes, especially when you go to tough places in the Premier League, you cannot beat teams by going 100 mph all the time, you need a little bit of finesse and for someone to do things differently.

“Many years ago Liverpool had midfield players like Ronnie Whelan and Jan Molby who could just slow the game down and play at a tempo that suited them, Thiago could do that.

“We saw him in the Champions League final where he completely bossed the game, had so many touches of the ball and made the game look easy.”