Thiago.... Ja ????

[Halmeister]

Just nothing about it makes sense. And all the noises seem to be coming from Germany which makes me think it's agent driven.

The club are actively telling the Echo that the story is nonsense, but are offering a little more when it comes to other players. For example, they briefed the Echo on Lewis, Tsimikas, and have acknowledged some interest in Sarr, though we probably won't be making a move.

With Thiago, though, it's a steadfast "No. It's a load of shite."

I don't think it's happening.

 

[Squiggles]

I really don't think you get this amount of agent chat if we're not remotely interested. It's being going on weeks and weeks. We already know Klopp is a fan and Gini is leaving either this year or next.

There's enough smoke to feel pretty confident this could happen.

 

[Fabio]

Maybe, I dunno. I just want this to be done and dusted.
This transfers does puzzle me a bit considering the amount of midfielders we already have. One or two have to go.

We play 3 midfielders, so we ideally need 2 in each position, and it's not a bad thing to have creative players as an alternative to the workhorse.

Gruijic/Fab/hendo, gini/keita/thiago, hendo/ox/milner

Ox will probably be shifted to winger rather than midfield, gruijic will no doubt be binned off, gini might go next year for free, keita is still dicey injury risk

Depth is something we have, but they're aging.

Thiago may be 30, but his playstyle is something no other midfielder has for us, and something we definitely should have

 

[Hansern]

If we do end up signing Thiago, then we know how much we cant count on the info being fed to the media by the club.

There seem to be so much smoke in regards to this transfer, that it would be very strange if it didnt happen at some point.

Will be very interesting to see after the CL.

 

[tomasjj]

This is a go'er or what?

 

[Halmeister]

Well, we saw it with Pepe, didn't we? Not to the same extent, but there's definitely instances of the majority of media talk being nonsense.

 

[Fabio]

Well, we saw it with Pepe, didn't we? Not to the same extent, but there's definitely instances of the majority of media talk being nonsense.

I still believe there was genuine interest in Pepe, just not for 70m that Lille wanted.

 

[King Binny]

 

[tomasjj]

Well, we saw it with Pepe, didn't we? Not to the same extent, but there's definitely instances of the majority of media talk being nonsense.

Thanks!

 

[ctlovesred]

Our playing style has evolved over Klopp’s time here. Maybe he’s planning a change and therefore needs a player capable of doing things none of our current midfielders can?

 

[tombrown]

There's enough smoke to feel pretty confident this could happen.

A year or two back you could have said that smoke was just what was coming from Oncy's smelly campsite

 

[Halmeister]

I still believe there was genuine interest in Pepe, just not for 70m that Lille wanted.

The club consistently told The Echo that it was never going to happen. You could still be right, though.

 

[The Nomad]

Apparently he's already found a house..

All of a sudden I'm getting Zidane vibes all over again.

 

[Hansern]

Is Zidane’s old house available though?

 

[Red Bird]

That Fabrizio Romano tweet makes the most sense.

 

[Fabio]

The club consistently told The Echo that it was never going to happen. You could still be right, though.

I'm definitely not, it's not my bag

 

[rurikbird]

This is pretty much the best confirmation out of Germany you're going to get (other than the player himself saying it):


Doesn't mean we'll sign him, but does look like there is both smoke and fire. Pearce, Reddy and others are evidently on strict gag orders not to say anything that could improve Bayern's negotiating position.

 

[darkstarexodus]

Our playing style has evolved over Klopp’s time here. Maybe he’s planning a change and therefore needs a player capable of doing things none of our current midfielders can?

That's the most plausible answer to any potential interest really. Not sure it's based in fact but if we are actually pursuing him, it's likely for this reason.

 

[Modo]

It makes sense not to buy him before he's done playing for Bayern this season. Don't want to pay £30 mill then see him get injured.

 

[rurikbird]

Our playing style has evolved over Klopp’s time here. Maybe he’s planning a change and therefore needs a player capable of doing things none of our current midfielders can?

If Thiago didn't suddenly make himself available, would LFC be pursuing an alternative midfield target in similar vein to Thiago? I think not. If the negotiations with Bayern fall through, will Klopp sign another midfield playmaker? Almost certainly not. Contrast that to the way we normally conduct the search for positions we need to strengthen, where there is always a sizable list of alternatives that are sometimes even played against each other in negotiations as we saw with Lewis/Tsimikas.

All this tells me is that our interest is situational and not a result of some kind of tactical evolution masterplan – basically a world-class player that Klopp always liked and wanted to work with decided it's time for a new challenge, is near the end of his contract and therefore available for relatively little. Apparently he wants to come here. If we can sign him while staying within the budget, we'll do it, if not – we'll stick with the midfielders we have. Klopp always talks about how we "keep our eyes open" in the transfer market, are ready to "be flexible" and "react if the right solution becomes available" – I think this is exactly what "reacting" means.

 

[King Binny]

I was reminded of this part of the article when the Thiago link first started:

[article]That they have won 14 games by just one goal this season is no coincidence. Of course, the Reds’ coaching team aren’t happy to stop here; they believe the next step in Liverpool’s evolution was spelled out by those frustrating meetings with Atletico Madrid and Watford prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

In both games, the opposition succeeded in closing almost every space both in central and wide areas, while also exploiting the Reds’ aggressively high line in a manner that had rarely been seen before.

At Melwood, the feeling is that this new problem will only be solved with greater unpredictability in the final third - a quality that is more likely to be found in the transfer market than on the training pitch.[/article]

 

[rurikbird]

I was reminded of this part of the article when the Thiago link first started:

[article]That they have won 14 games by just one goal this season is no coincidence. Of course, the Reds’ coaching team aren’t happy to stop here; they believe the next step in Liverpool’s evolution was spelled out by those frustrating meetings with Atletico Madrid and Watford prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

In both games, the opposition succeeded in closing almost every space both in central and wide areas, while also exploiting the Reds’ aggressively high line in a manner that had rarely been seen before.

At Melwood, the feeling is that this new problem will only be solved with greater unpredictability in the final third - a quality that is more likely to be found in the transfer market than on the training pitch.[/article]

I really liked some of Bayern's quick attacking patterns when Barca tried to clog the middle of the pitch. Like the combination for Gnabry's goal with Thiago pinging the ball forward into Goretzka standing with his back to goal and a one-touch no-look diagonal slice right behind the defensive live – almost no way to defend against something like this if the forward is faster than the CB. There were a couple of similar plays with Mueller too. One-touch football can be so devastating! I think Thiago was responsible for 2 or 3 "assists before the assist" in that game; no question that a player with his skillset could help with unlocking defenses.

BTW Brewster likes to play quick one-touch passes, as does Bobby, of course; I can see both of them doing the "Goretzka/Mueller" thing.

 

[Frogfish]

I really liked some of Bayern's quick attacking patterns when Barca tried to clog the middle of the pitch. Like the combination for Gnabry's goal with Thiago pinging the ball forward into Goretzka standing with his back to goal and a one-touch no-look diagonal slice right behind the defensive live – almost no way to defend against something like this if the forward is faster than the CB. There were a couple of similar plays with Mueller too. One-touch football can be so devastating! I think Thiago was responsible for 2 or 3 "assists before the assist" in that game; no question that a player with his skillset could help with unlocking defenses.

BTW Brewster likes to play quick one-touch passes, as does Bobby, of course; I can see both of them doing the "Goretzka/Mueller" thing.

Licks lips and salivates.

 

[ctlovesred]

I was reminded of this part of the article when the Thiago link first started:

[article]That they have won 14 games by just one goal this season is no coincidence. Of course, the Reds’ coaching team aren’t happy to stop here; they believe the next step in Liverpool’s evolution was spelled out by those frustrating meetings with Atletico Madrid and Watford prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

In both games, the opposition succeeded in closing almost every space both in central and wide areas, while also exploiting the Reds’ aggressively high line in a manner that had rarely been seen before.

At Melwood, the feeling is that this new problem will only be solved with greater unpredictability in the final third - a quality that is more likely to be found in the transfer market than on the training pitch.[/article]

I think that has to be what they are considering with Thiago. We desperately need it for those tiny margins

 

[tombrown]

Boom!

 

[MomoWASright]

He’s definitely not coming.

 

[Hansern]

Boom!

Trust Hanz!

 

[Shadey]

Forget Hanz, I trust kneez & Toez most.

 

[Mojo]

Boom!

When was the last time these cnuts got a transfer correct?

 

[Modo]

When was the last time these cnuts got a transfer correct?

They've got all the signings we've completed the last few years right. That is if you disregard the fact that they report it after it's officially confirmed.