Thiago could ‘fail to arrive’ at Liverpool like Keita, says Hamann

Will Ford 18 Sep 2020 11:23 AM

Liverpool legend Dietmar Hamann claims the “jury is out” as to whether Thiago Alcantara will prove to be a success at Anfield.

The Reds are set to tie up a £26million deal for Thiago, with the intricacies of the deal announced on Friday.

Thiago will provide a new dimension to Liverpool’s midfield, but Hamann claims the fans shouldn’t be getting too excited.

He says Thiago was never considered a key player in the Bayern side, adding that he only played in their Champions League games due to injuries in the squad.

“Bayern Munich would have preferred to keep him of course, but having said that, he’s been there seven years and he probably played his best game for the club in his last one, the Champions League final,” Hamann told talkSPORT.

“We always knew he was a good footballer but there was never a time in the seven years where you said, ‘you can’t think of the team without Thiago’.

“As it was now with [Thomas] Muller being back in form and [Leon] Goretzka coming into the team, if everybody was fit towards the end of the season Thiago wouldn’t have played. He only played because [Benjamin] Pavard couldn’t play in the final and [Joshua] Kimmich had to play right-back.

“So I’m not too sure… The game in England is a lot quicker than Germany. If he thinks he can’t be pressed, than good luck to him.

“He’s 29 now, he’s coming to a different country and a different type of football, I think we’ve seen that with the debuts of [Timo] Werner and [Kai] Havertz at Chelsea and how difficult they found it playing against Brighton.

“Yes, he’s a brilliant footballer, but the thing with Thiago is I always felt box-to-box is a great thing if you can do it, but you’ve got to contribute either defensively or offensively; and he’s not a goalscorer so he wont get you an awful lot of goals, and then the number ten role doesn’t really exist at Liverpool with their front-three.

“I’m intrigued about where he’s going to play, I think he adds something else to Liverpool because he’s got a lot more creatively that the guys in midfield they’ve got now, but these guys have done a brilliant job in the last few years.

“He adds something extra, but I think the jury is still out whether he is that player they think or are told he is.”

Hamann has warned that Thiago could be another Naby Keita, who “hasn’t really arrived at Liverpool”.

He added: “We’ve seen it with Keita, who is a brilliant player, but he’s been there two years now and he hasn’t really arrived at Liverpool. They were talking about possibly moving him on in the summer.

“I’m not saying it’ll be a similar story, but I’ll be interested to see how he does and how Klopp plays him because I never really saw him as a holding midfielder because you need a bit of defensive thinking to play in that role.

“He did a brilliant job in the position in the final against Paris, but he’s not really a defence-minded player.

“I’m not too sure. He’s a great player, but whether he suits the English game, it think that remains to be seen.”