‘World-class’ Thiago is only going to get better for Liverpool after difficult first year, says Klopp
Thiago Alcantara celebrates his first anniversary as a Liverpool player today with his manager Jurgen Klopp insisting there is much more to come from his playmaker.
Apart from Virgil van Dijk, no Klopp signing has been greeted with as much enthusiasm as Thiago when he joined for £20million from Bayern Munich. But it is symptomatic of how complicated the first year of his Anfield career has been that he has started only once in this campaign, and there is no guarantee he will be in the line-up to face Crystal Palace today.
“It is now a year, but it is actually only half a year because of all the things that happened; coming into a new club in the most difficult period of all our lives,” Klopp said. “The start was not perfect because he came here and got Covid and got injured early. Of course that makes everything a little more difficult.”
For the whole of last season, injuries prevented Klopp selecting all his senior midfielders. Liverpool’s dream midfield trio is, arguably, Thiago, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson. They have started together in their favoured positions only once – the derby last October when Thiago and Van Dijk were injured.
Fabinho then had to play as a centre-back for five months, and by the time Thiago was fully fit, Henderson was out with a groin injury.
“Thiago showed what kind of a player he can and will be for us, so there is much more to come,” Klopp said. “He is a really good character and personality, and obviously a world-class player.
“All the technical stuff is easy for him. In a closed area, with his passing he is really good, and he can chip balls into each area like a golfer.
“He is such a natural footballer. We want him to play his natural football and there are just a couple of things he has to adapt for how we play. He did that. I don’t ask him for constant runs beyond the last line. He is a playmaker.”
Klopp is considering giving a full debut to summer signing Ibrahima Konate against Palace. Van Dijk is likely to return after being rested in midweek.