Thiago is the wrong ‘type of player’ for Liverpool – Hamann
Thiago “slows things down” and he does not suit Jurgen Klopp’s style, according to Liverpool legend Dietmar Hamann.
The Spaniard joined Liverpool this summer from Bayern Munich for around £20m. He only had one year remaining on his deal after spending seven years in the Bundesliga.
He made his Premier Lague debut in September against Chelsea. The midfielder came on at half time and he made 75 passes. This is the most ever recorded by a single player who had only been on the pitch for a maximum of 45 minutes.
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Thiago tested positive for COVID-19 at the end of September, with his start to life at Liverpool also being hampered by injury.
He has made five appearances for the club so far and he made his return to action at the end of December as Liverpool drew 0-0 with Newcastle.
In an interview with the Liverpool Echo, Hamann said he is “very cautious” about Thiago’s move to the Reds:
“He slows things down and doesn’t really play the way Liverpool play. Liverpool in the past two years had hard-working midfielders. They were skilful, yes, but not as skilful as Thiago.
“They gave the ball to Salah and Mane early, and when you get the ball early to the wing and these guys can run at players, they are very hard, impossible to stop.
“Everyone was raving about Thiago when he came to Liverpool but he’s hardly played. He came on against Chelsea where they had the most passes in the second half but Chelsea were down to 10 men.
“Then he came on against Newcastle for the last 25 minutes and Newcastle were dead on their feet.
“I can tell you he is a good player, a skilful player, yes. But there was never a time at Munich where people said he should be the first name on the teamsheet.
“I’d be very cautious when it comes to Thiago. He plays a different style of football. He likes to be in possession.
“Liverpool were always good when they played quickly forward, and he’s not that type of player.
“It’ll be very interesting when he does play more often now, how he changes the dynamics of the team.”
