I think the thing that set Thiago apart from the other you mentioned, is he was always a luxury signing. Someone who would no doubt add guile and class, but wasn't what we needed at that time. The fact there's been constant injuries just adds to the frustration.
Fabio was free, as was matip. Matip actually had a prolonged run and was hugely important in some of our successes. And Fabio was just a fucking don
You've got a point about the being free part, kinda disagree about us not needing him. I mean Gini was leaving or had already left so we needed someone to come in.
Maybe you mean the wrong type of player. That I can agree with.