Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
HERR TODAY,KOP IDOL TOMORROW
Bayern boss Flick tells Anfield fans what they want to hear: In Thiago, Klopp is getting a genuine superstar
LIVERPOOL are signing a bona-fide superstar in Thiago Alcantara if tributes from Bayern Munich are any guide.
Bayern manager Hansi Flick sounded gutted to wave f arewell to the midfielder who made the Champions League winners tick.
“My coaching team and I enjoyed working with him. It was very emotional as we said goodbye,” said Flick of the 29-year-old Italianborn Spain international. “Thiago gives a team options because he solves things in ways you don’t expect. He made us unpredictable and we know th that now we are l osing yet anot anoth er great play player.”
A And in a direct message to his German com compatriot, An Anf i e l d b o ss Jur Jurgen Klopp, Fl Flick said: “K “Kloppo is g getting our g great player.” For all the denials this summer, K lopp privately refused to give up his pursuit of Thiago.
As Premier League champions, Liverpool have a massive target on their back but, in Klopp, they have a manager who knows how to defend a title.
He won the Bundesliga with Dortmund in 2011 and again in 2012 but a d mi tt e d a f t e r that incredible high that his team were there to be shot at. And Thiago provided the bullets.
After his arrival at Bayern in 2013, the Munich giants pulled away from Dortmund.
And Klopp was not ashamed to admit that the son of Brazil World Cup-winning star Mazinho was a huge factor in that process.
Thiago is a player he has always wanted to work with, a player he knows can maintain possession and provide attacking momentum.
The Liverpool boss had to fight hard. His club’s owners know this summer is not the time to spend big money, with Premier League clubs losing a collective £1bn in revenue because of Covid-19.
Klopp vowed Thiago could take his team to the next le vel , while
Manchester City, Ma n c h e s t e r Un i t e d , Chelsea and Arsenal spend millions to catch them. Thiago is ultra professional , as Flick underlined in his glowing endorsement. And he is also an influential figure in the dressing room.
Even Liverpool players, used to winning trophies a n d w e l c o mi n g b i g names, will be impressed. That much was evident yesterday when Andy Robertson was asked about the signing of a double Champions League and World Club Cup winner.
“I have watched him. He is a fantastic player. A player full of talent. He would add to the quality of the squad and any team in the world,” the Kop full-back said. “If we get him, great!”
Klopp remained patient in his pursuit of Thiago for a reason – he knows there are fe w players who can improve his side. He said as much last week when he hinted that a deal could still be done.
He said: “We want to have the right ones. To improve this squad it would need to be 100 per cent the right player.”
In Thiago, he believes he has that player.