Jurgen Klopp intends to keep Thiago Alcantara at Liverpool this season and has assured the seasoned Spaniard that he will play a key role in coaching a young squad.
Thiago has attracted interest from Saudi Arabia this summer, with reports this week saying that Al-Ahli – one of the clubs in which Newcastle United majority shareholders PIF have invested this summer – are due to make a £10.3 million move for him.
Liverpool, on the other hand, have yet to receive any bids for the 32-year-old, who is in the final year of his contract and has no plans to extend it.
Klopp has spoken with Thiago about his position in the upcoming season, with the midfielder returning to full training last weekend after missing more than three months due to a procedure to cure a long-term hip ailment.
In terms of formal interest in the player, Klopp stated, “No, there is none.” Honestly. Thiago is now in the gym. Nobody inquired.
“He came in and inquired about his role, and we talked.” He was a very seasoned player who stepped up in that area. He’s only been in team training for a week, but he’s quite loud and will be very useful to us.”
Thiago has made more first-team appearances for Liverpool than any other midfielder in the group despite joining less than three years ago. In the summer, Liverpool lost a slew of experienced players, including captain Jordan Henderson, vice captain James Milner, Fabinho, Naby Keita, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. They played 1,318 games for the Reds between them.
Liverpool currently has one of the league’s youngest midfields, after having one of the league’s oldest. When asked if this would jeopardize Liverpool’s chances of challenging Manchester City for the Premier League title this season, Klopp answered, “We’ll see.” Now you ask, I did it years ago (with Borussia Dortmund, with whom he won the Bundesliga for the first time in 2010/11). I’m not concerned with my age.
“We have some experience, though perhaps not as much as other teams. Could we obtain experience by working together? Yes. Can we get it quickly? Maybe. There was never an explanation at Dortmund for the two center-halves being 19 (Neven Subotic and Mats Hummels were that age when joined). Yes, it was a different era of football, but 19 was 19.
“I’m not sure, but it’s not that important.” This type of knowledge will be gained gradually during the season. What we need to do is win football games, feel happy, and create a positive vibe around the club. We’ve had a bad year, and now we want a terrific year. It is about what is beneficial to us.
“Are we only satisfied if we challenge City right away?” Is that the only way for us to be happy? Then we’ve got a problem. But we can get there if we start embracing the football the boys play.
“We’re starting over.” That is the case. We don’t want to play the same football we did before; we need to build something fresh, which is what we’re doing while trying to win football games. I’m not sure where that leads.”
